Miroku & Sango: the Ecchi & the Furious
by Saori Runa Dempsey
Summary: [Sango X Miroku; Kohaku X Rin] [AU] Sango needs an apartment; she found the perfect one but there's one problem: the local hentai Miroku would be her roommate. [Complete]
1. Apartment Searching

**_Ok, this is my first Inuyasha story so go easy, ok? I have to thank my gal pal Taijioku Christina-chan for helping me with this since I'm relatively new to Inuyasha. I hope you all enjoy; this was inspired by watching too much "Will & Grace"._**

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_Miroku & Sango: The Ecchi & the Furious_

**_Written & Edited by: Yoshida Saori & Taijioku Christina_**

**_~:~ Prologue: Apartment Searching ~:~_**

                The day was quiet and rather dreary, the beeping of monitors the only sound in the small hospital room. The young girl sat by her unconscious brother's bed side, stroking his hair in a motherly gesture while her honey brown eyes shimmered with worry.

                "Sango-san?" The nurse walked in as she nodded mutely for her to come in, partially listening as the young woman rambled on about the injuries the fire had inflicted on him.

                "He's in a coma…there are some doctors in Tokyo that might have some technology to help his chances of recovering…"

                "Arrange for him to be moved to the Tokyo hospital then," Sango said, staring at the only family she had left, "I'll go arrange for a transfer into the nearest school there."

                That's how it had started.

                Huffing, Sango stalked away from the apartment she had just finished seeing, the owner's head filled with bumps and a few scratches from her faithful pet, Kirara. The place had been dirtier then a sewer and the man had obviously been deprived of being able to see a female in ages. Repressing a shudder, Sango walked down the sidewalk, searching for the last apartment she had to view before going back to her temporary home in the hotel for the night.

                Tokyo was full of more perverted men then Sango could remember ever seeing in her old home in Kyoto. Of course, she had lived in the mountains with her clan where children were brought up strictly so it shouldn't have been a surprise that the men here were a bit too ecchi. The recent fire had all but destroyed the whole clan, claiming most of her family in its aftermath.

                Her little brother Kohaku was in a coma, now resting in his endless sleep in Tokyo's finest hospital. They said he might recover with their expert care but Sango didn't want to get her hopes up too high just to have them crushed later on.

                Stopping in front of a large complex, she appraised her last stop thoughtfully. It was modest looking compared to the other dumps she saw for her limited amount of money but it looked like it might be out of her financial range.

                Stepping into the elevator, it brought her up to the 4th floor where she promptly started searching for apartment 4-M. Rounding the corner, she eyed the door in interest; the paint looked new instead of old and falling off like the other doors were. Pressing the doorbell, Sango crossed her fingers – trying not to disturb Kirara in the process -- and hoped that this would be the last place she'd need to look at.

*              *              *              *              *              *

                The doorbell ringing snapped the black haired young man from his semi-conscious state, his eyes focusing from the screen of applicants for a roommate to the door. One more blasted applicant before he was done and had to make his choice.

                Had Miroku known finding a roommate to help pay bills would be so hard, he would have smacked Inuyasha and made him stay. Never in his 19 years of living had he thought it would be this exhausting to find one person to share his apartment with. Perhaps he should sell and go into a smaller one.

                Peering out the peep hole, he was greeted by the brown hair of a person's head; from the view he had now, the smaller apartment was looking to be his best option.

                Opening the door, the head slowly turned and Miroku's mind went blank; the roommate option was gaining foot.

                The girl before him was nothing short of breathtaking. Nice body and youthful looks; not to mention the nicest chest he'd ever seen.

                Apparently she had caught him staring – the hentai grin was a dead give away – and smacked him on the head. "I'm here to see the apartment."

                Miroku couldn't hide his growing grin; she was a fiery one on top of being drop dead gorgeous. "This would be the place then." Motioning for her to come in, he let his eyes trail down towards her rear and barely resisted doing his usual habit of copping a feel; he didn't want to scare this one away.

                Sango glanced around the rather nice place, the hairs on the back of her neck prickling as she felt his eyes on her. _Why do I always find all the hentai's?! "It looks a lot better then all the other places I've seen…how much would I have to pay?"_

                "The necessities and things…nothing much," Miroku said casually, looping an arm around her shoulders and giving her the grand tour. Her eyebrow ticked but she didn't try to break his arm, assuring herself that he was just being very friendly.

                The hand moved down her arm and towards her chest.

                Now he was getting _TOO friendly._

                The hard slap resonated through the hallway, her hand leaving a bright red hand print on his cheek. Annoyingly enough, he seemed to only smile at her scrunched up face, rubbing the stinging flesh absently. "You're a fiery one, aren't you?"

                Despite Sango's best efforts, that annoying blush crept its way up her face. This man was infuriating and she had only known him for a minute or two at the least. "Thank you for the tour but I must be going…"

                "May I at least know your name?" Miroku prompted, reminding himself to track her down if she didn't want to become his roommate. She was definitely a girl he wanted to know, if only for the challenge.

                "Taijiya Sango," she said curtly, still obviously annoyed at his attempt to cop a feel, "And yours would be…?"

                "Houshi Miroku." He gave her one of his heart melting smiles, watching in concealed amusement as the heat rose to her cheeks again.

                "Well it was nice meeting you, Houshi-sama; good day."

                Polite pretty and beautiful; Miroku sighed as he shut the door and stretched. He could almost thank Inuyasha for moving out and giving him this grand opportunity…now if only she took up his offer he'd be a happy man.

*              *              *              *              *              *

                Tying her robe closed, Sango stepped from the bathroom and proceeded to dry her hair, going over all the options of apartments. None of them except one seemed decent enough but then she'd have to be roommates with an ecchi.

                _Share an apartment with one ecchi or live in buildings full of hentai's. Sango let out a frustrated sigh; the choice to pick was obvious but she hated the idea of having someone trying to feel her up all day. __It's not like I couldn't handle him though… "What do you think Kirara?"_

                The cream colored cat purred against her leg, big bright red eyes looking up at her as it hit the paper with its paw. Sango mused whether Kirara knew she was hitting Miroku's roommate ad or not. "So you think that one to?" Kirara hopped into her lap and purred in response. Stroking her coat gently, Sango smiled and said, "You'll help me keep him in line if he doesn't watch his hands, ne?"

                Kirara simply let out a half hiss and Sango could have sworn she bared fangs in a cat like smile.

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**_So how was it? This is only a prologue…should I continue or not? Read and review, onegai! Some CONSTRUCTIVE criticism or opinions appreciated. Please keep in mind I don't know much of Inuyasha yet and get my information from other stories so I might get little details wrong…_**


	2. Building of Fools

**_Here's Chapter 1; I hope it's enjoyable. I'm so glad everyone likes this! I had my doubts about this but I was greatly encouraged by the positive responses so enjoy the rest of this story. It should run around 10to 15 chapters…I'm not sure yet._**

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_Miroku & Sango: The Ecchi & the Furious_

**_Written & Edited by: Yoshida Saori & Taijioku Christina_**

**_~:~ Chapter 1: _****_Building_****_ of _****_Fools_****_ ~:~_**

                "_HOUSHI-SAMA!"_

                **_::CRACK!::_**

                Sango let out a predatory growl as she stood up from putting her box down, Miroku an arm's reach away rubbing his cheek with that infuriating grin that he had worn ever since she arrived with her things. Silently, she reminded herself to go by some dead bolt locks for her room door which was conveniently placed across from his.

                "I just thought you might need some help," Miroku said innocently, lugging a box inside.

                "With what; having my rear assessed?!"

                Miroku grinned wider. "That too…"

                **_::CRACK!::_**

                "So you're Miroku's new roommate…" Sango turned to see a young lady about a few years older then her lecherous roommate leaning on the doorframe, petting a small dog that was snuggled contently in her arms. "You're better then dog boy…but how did this hentai manage to twist a pretty young girl like you into moving in with him?"

                "Desperation" "Want"

                The lady smirked again as Sango smacked Miroku for his not so funny joke. "I like you already; what's your name?"

                "Taijiya Sango," she said, shifting the box to lean on her knee as she shook the lady's hand, "Who're you?"

                "Mizuki; I have the not so honored privilege of being in this hentai's classes at the college. My father is the landlord of this building as well so I've become well acquainted with this hentai who never pays rent," she said with a smile that put Sango at ease.

                At least it did until Miroku walked past her and brushed his hand against her rear.

                Sango grabbed a nearby piece of wood and bashed him on the head with it, her face scarlet in embarrassment and anger. "**_HENTAI!"_**

                Mizuki snorted in laughter as she stared at Miroku's floored form. "You have a good arm; do you practice kendo?" Miroku peeled himself off the oak wood floor and whistled as he walked down the stairs smiling.

                "Something like that." Readjusting the box again, Sango glanced at her watch. "I have just enough time to get to the school and see if everything is set for me tomorrow."

                Mizuki smiled again, brushing her pitch black hair over her shoulder as she let her puppy down. "Well, good luck taming the hentai."

                Sango blinked a bit before shrugging the last comment off, shifting her box of things yet again as Mizuki walked towards the stairwell. _Well, she seemed nice…_

                "So what did Zuki-chan say about me?" Miroku queried as he walked into they're apartment with the last of her boxes. Kirara was already making herself quite comfortable on the leather couch, the sliding doors leading to the balcony left open to let the autumn breeze float in. "All good things I'll bet."

                "She said nothing I don't already know." Letting the box go with a loud _'thump' and a drawn out sigh, Sango fell back next to Kirara and lifted her feet up onto the nearby coffee table. "I didn't think moving was this hard."_

                "What made you decide on living here with me anyway?" Miroku's tone held no teasing, just idle curiosity.

                "All the other places had perverts living in the whole building. I can handle one better then I can a whole building of them," Sango said simply, stroking Kirara's coat making her purr, "So your place is the best choice given my circumstances."

                Miroku grinned again, but it was a content one that didn't make Sango get ready to hit him. "Well, I must say I'm glad; none of the other people who came were pretty like you."

                The heat slowly rose up her face, Sango's head dropping down in an attempt to hide it. She cursed herself for blushing so easily; it was one of her faults that she hated having. Sango suspected she'd be blushing a lot since Miroku did seem rather sweet…

                The train of thought broke when she felt his hand sliding towards her rear.

                "Kirara, sic him!"

                Sango leaned back, watching as her faithful cat jumped Miroku and went tumbling to the floor with the hentai. _At least, she consoled herself mentally, __I'll never be bored._

*              *              *              *              *              *

                The hallways of the Tokyo hospital were a bit brighter then the one in Kyoto, filled with more children then Sango had expected. Kohaku had been placed in the children's ward but Sango was having hell trying to find his room.

                Her new high school had been, to say the least, overwhelming. She had been stared at in the hallways, as was expected, but it had made her uncomfortable to be the center of attention. The uniform, unfortunately, did not put her to ease since the skirts seemed to be a bit shorter then the ones in her old school.

                Sango let out a long sigh as she finally found the room. Opening the door, she gave a sad smile and immediately sat in the chair next to Kohaku's bedside, discarding her own bag on the floor next to her.

                The steady beeping of the machinery filled the air around her, comforting Sango only slightly by assuring her he was still alive and breathing. Running a hand through his hair, she gave another sigh and began to talk to him, much like she always did as she ran through her day.

                Outside the door, a little girl peeked in, bright brown eyes staring at the two curiously. It seemed like Sango didn't notice her presence until she said without turning around, "You don't have to hide."

                Cautiously, she stepped inside, her black hair messed and her yukata torn slightly. Turning around, Sango smiled at the little girl who couldn't have been older then 10. "Who're you?"

                "Rin," she said, smiling. Her face was a bit dirty, but she was otherwise healthy looking. "Rin was wondering why you was here."

                "Well, Rin-chan, I'm Sango. My otouto isn't well so I'm here visiting him."

                Rin walked to Kohaku's side, standing next to Sango and peering over to look at him and poking his arm where the intervenes was injected curiously. "Why isn't he waking up?"

                "I don't know," Sango sighed, "I just don't know."

*              *              *              *              *              *

                Miroku leaned back against the couch's arm rest, eyes closed as he sat in the pitch black apartment. Sango had left to deal with things so he had unpacked everything for her and now his limbs were screaming bloody murder. Even the fiery lass he had for a roommate now wasn't an exception from the age old male saying, "Women travel heavy."

                The distant sound of the door opening rang in his ears but Miroku wasn't about to get up for anything less then an earthquake. The cool night breeze blowing in was lulling him into a relaxed state that came to him only rarely. Most of the time women were hanging on him or he was groping them – both of which he enjoyed, mind you.

                He could hear Sango's unmistakable mumbling as she rustled around with some sort of bag, Kirara – the cat had been resting on the arm rest near his feet and closest to the door – jumping towards her master who gave a small shriek before realizing who it was. "Where the hell is the damn light, Kirara?" 

Miroku closed his eyes just as the lights flickered on, shining on his eyelids. He heard her shuffle around, finally settling down right next to him; he could practically feel her eyes on his head.

"You'd never guess he's a hentai with a face like that," he heard her mutter, pinching his cheeks slightly.

Miroku barely managed to keep his face completely straight.

                Sango leaned down, studying his face. He seemed completely innocent and ridiculously adorable; a far cry from the lecherous young man he normally acted like. Peering in closer, she couldn't get away quick enough before he rolled over and his arm hung limply over her shoulder, curling around the back of her neck.

                Taking a few deep breathes, Sango simply thanked whoever watched over her that Miroku wasn't awake to see her beat red face. He had pulled himself closer to her, his face pressed too close to her bosom for comfort. She would have normally hit him but she didn't have the heart to wake him, looking down at his child like face.

                That is, until she noticed the unmistakable grin on his lips.

                In the apartment below, Mizuki looked up, watching the chandelier over the kitchen table shake and the loud sound of a certain someone getting smacked or pounded into the floor echoing through the walls; her guess was both. _I knew I liked that girl!_

*              *              *              *              *              *

                The next morning, Sango woke up bright and early as she prepared for her first day of school. Shuffling around her semi-organized room, she undressed and tugged at the short green skirt for the billionth time in less then a minute. Checking her appearance briefly, Sango walked out towards the kitchen where her small frown dropped to a scowl.

                "Ohayo gozaimasu, Sango," Miroku said all too cheerfully with a smile that made Sango glare harder. She hadn't spoken to him at all since his little act yesterday and she wasn't about to go to her new school moody and irate.

                Miroku smiled as Sango ignored him, taking the plate of food he offered her with only a brief nod of thanks. She was absolutely adorable when she was mad but she packed one hell of a slap; his imprint was still on the floor from the impact his fall had. Poking his cheek, he winced slightly; it was still sore. He'd hate to feel what her punches were like.

                "I'm off to school; sayonara," Sango muttered, grabbing her briefcase, slinging it over her shoulder and walking out the door. Miroku followed her with his eyes until she was out of sight, smiling; he had forgotten why he missed high school so much. 

Lucky for him, Sango was too tired to turn around and throw her bag at his face for ogling her legs and behind. 

*              *              *              *              *              *

                The school was loud and the whispering about her began grating on Sango's nerves. It was lunch time already and her day had been fairly well, except for the love sick boys and the giggly girls who kept whispering about her. She didn't care what they said about her but Sango was just annoyed that they tried to make it so she couldn't hear when it was obvious she _COULD since she was only a meter or two away. They could at least __TRY to talk about her farther away or at least right to her face and ask._

                "Hi!" a cheerful black haired girl exclaimed suddenly, popping up in front of Sango, "You're the new girl, right?"

                "That would be me; who are you?"

                "Higurashi Kagome!" Kagome sat across from her, opening her lunch and picking on it. "I saw that you were eating alone so I thought you might like some company."

                Sango smiled; Kagome seemed nice. "Arigatou gozaimasu."

                "So…can I ask you something?" Kagome queried hesitantly, sipping her coke. Sango nodded. "Is it true that you're from a mountain clan in Kyoto that fights demons and evil spirits?"

                Not for the first time, Sango wondered how the hell people found this stuff out. _NO ONE knew that; not even Miroku and he was her roommate! "Hai…"_

                "Sugoi! That must be so cool," she exclaimed, "Where are you staying in Tokyo? Most places aren't very respectable these days."

                "I saw that while I was looking at apartments. I'm in the complex 15 minutes away from here. It's near Tokyo Tower."

                Kagome seemed to frown in concentration at that. "You wouldn't happen to be Miroku-sama's new roommate, would you?"

                Sango raised an eyebrow. "I would be, why? Has that hentai gotten you too?"

                "Iie!" she said, coloring slightly, "Inuyasha was Miroku's old roommate and were all pretty good friends. We were going to stop by after school actually to meet his roommate…" Kagome seemed to frown slightly as she trailed off but Sango didn't question it.

                Sango chuckled as well, though she still had one thing in the back of her mind. "Why does Mizuki-san call him dog boy?"

                _It must have been part of an inside joke, Sango decided as Kagome cracked up laughing. "Inuyasha didn't get along with her dog very well…one time he went rolling around and fought with the poor pup. Mizuki-san says she could see fangs from his mouth when he was fighting so she calls him dog boy. Quite a few people call him that now just to annoy him."_

                _I can't wait to meet him, Sango thought dryly, __He's probably a hentai just like Houshi-sama._

*              *              *              *              *              *

            **_::SNEEZE::_**

                "Don't get your fleas on my couch!" Miroku shouted from his room. 

The white haired boy on said couch grunted, flexing his fist. "Feh! Make one more dog remark and I'll slam you into the ground, bouzou!"

"Feisty today, aren't we?" Miroku said with a smirk that made Inuyasha growl in a very canine like manner, "Did you do something to make Kagome-sama mad on your date last night?"

"I'll bet he called her Kikyou again," Mizuki quipped. As always, she was sitting on the kitchen counter passing the hours at her favorite sukebe tenant's apartment with his doggy friend. Her dog Shippou was near her dangling feet, growling and glaring at Inuyasha who was merely glaring at it in return. Kirara watched on from her comfortable position on a throw pillow, musing on how stupid humans were.

                "Urusai!"

                "He did," Miroku and Mizuki drawled, slapping their palms on their foreheads in unison. Inuyasha grumbled but made no move to deny it.

                "That's what you get for going after cousins. You need to pick one already," the black haired girl muttered, stroking Shippou's sandy brown fur as he hopped into her lap. 

                "I love Kagome, not Kikyou!"

                "Then why do you keep calling Kagome, Kikyou?" Miroku queried.

                Inuyasha glowered at them both. "Are you sure you two aren't twins sent to annoy me by Sesshomaru?"

                "We're not and don't change the subject." Mizuki hopped off the counter, Shippou reluctantly jumping down and going to sit near Kirara who was reluctant to share her comfortable pillow, "You're calling Kagome _'Kikyou' because you still have feelings for her."_

               "I do not!" Two sets of pale blue eyes glared at him as to show him they didn't believe a word coming from his mouth. "Well…not really…"

                Before either of them could begin a tirade, Sango came through the door with Kagome in tow, the two girls chattering like best friends. "Tadaima!"

                "Okaeri nasai," Miroku chimed, moving to _'greet' Sango when her backpack hit him in the face, forcing him to sit back down. Kirara leapt up and greeted her master with a lick on her face, purring and rubbing against Sango's leg once she was on the floor._

                Mizuki observed the room, sweat-dropping as Kagome took one look at Inuyasha before turning her head and ignoring him with a frown on her lips. Dog boy glowered more, stubborn pride refusing to let him approach her first and say sorry. Miroku was smiling and making Sango blush as she prepared a snack for herself, only to be smacked when his hand began traveling towards her butt. _I live in a building of fools…_

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**_So how is it? I know Shippou isn't a dog but…well…for convenience he is in here. Mizuki is also in here for a reason which I'll go into later…_**

****

**_Oh yeah…and if you want to be notified when I post a new chapter, just tell me in a review and leave your e-mail address._**


	3. Painful Secrets

**_Here's Chapter 2! All the reviews make me so happy ^-^ Keep them coming please! This chapter finally sheds some light as to Mizuki's relevance to the story, as well as Miroku's sad past I made up. Since he doesn't suffer from a life threatening air-rip, he had to have SOME kind of tragic event happen and it just so happened that it made him a pervert._**

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_Miroku & Sango: The Ecchi & the Furious_

**_Written & Edited by: Yoshida Saori & Taijioku Christina_**

**_~:~ Chapter 2: Painful Secrets ~:~_**

                "You need to!"

                "No way! I'm not going to!"

                Mizuki glowered, turning towards Sango who was sitting at the table eating breakfast and silently laughing at the near daily tirade. Mizuki was silently asking for some help but Sango merely gave her a look that said she was on her own. "Miroku, you need to get a job! My father is not going to be that lenient anymore with your rent going unpaid now that you have a roommate!"

                "Can't you needle him for one more month?" he practically begged, eyes going abnormally wide in a successful attempt to look innocent. "Just one!"

                Even the strongest of girls crumpled under a puppy dog stare. Combined with Miroku's natural charm and – as much as Sango hated to admit it – good looks, it was a lethal weapon that Mizuki was helpless against. "Fine! I'll see what I can do! Just wipe that damned look off your face before I ask Shippou to scratch it off!"

                Miroku immediately got to his feet, a trademark smile on his face as he gave her a hug. "Arigatou, Zuki-chan!"

                His hand traveled to the girl's rear.

                **_::CRASH!::_**

                A now floored Miroku twitched in the debris of the floor, Mizuki's right foot planted painfully on his back as a vein popped out of her clenched fist. "Sukebe!"

                Sango walked up, tapping his side with her foot as he continued to twitch and didn't get up from the floor. "How hard did you hit him?"

                "He'll be out for a while," she quipped, nudging Miroku so he was on his back near the foot of the couch. Sitting down on the plush cushion, she propped her feet on his stomach and flipped the TV on; apparently, she was well accustomed to this routine. "I guess I'll stay here until he comes to so I can badger him about a job and some other debts."

                Smiling, Sango shouldered her briefcase and sports bag. "Tell the sukebe I'll be late; I have fencing and martial arts practice and I promised Kagome I'd help her with archery."

                "Have a good day," she chimed with too much cheerfulness, waving until Sango was out of site. Once she was, Mizuki looked down at her foot rest. "You hear her, sukebe?"

                "Hai; now can you please let me up?" Miroku's said, his face buried in the carpeting, "I'm getting rug burn on my nose."

                "Nope."

                Kirara seemed to agree, lying on Miroku's head, growling and bearing her claws when he tried to move; why was everyone ganging up on him today?

*              *              *              *              *              *

                "I can't believe it! They want me to be a part of the archery exhibition!" Kagome was nearly bouncing with joy as she and Sango walked into a café for a drink, "Are you taking part in any exhibitions for Sports Day?"

                Sango sweat-dropped as she mumbled some inaudible words under her breathe. Ever since she had come, her athletic talents had been spotted quickly and she had been talked into joining nearly every sport there was. She had been asked to participate in all of the exhibitions and had yet to decide which to help with; she wanted _SOME free time to enjoy the day after all. "Yeah; I don't know which ones though."_

                "You'll do great in any of them," Kagome said cheerfully.

                Sango nodded absently, looking at the ticket in her hand. Kagome had gotten two and was going to give hers to Inuyasha and Mizuki but Sango didn't know who to ask to come watch her. Normally she would have three -- one for her father, mother and Kohaku – but now she didn't have anyone to watch her compete proudly. Kohaku was in the coma and her family was gone…who would she ask to go?

                "Are you going to give one to Miroku-sama?" Kagome asked innocently, breaking Sango from her depressing thoughts.

                Sango pondered it for a long while before shrugging. "I guess so…and maybe I'll ask Rin-chan if she'd like to come too…"

                "Who's Rin?"

                "A girl I met in the hospital," Sango answered without thinking. Once she realized what she said, Kagome's brown eyes were staring at her intently.

                "Why were you at the hospital? You're not sick, are you?" Kagome paused for a moment before her eyes widened at some sort of revelation she was thinking of. "Oh my god! Did Miroku-sama…and you…are you…?!"

                Sango spit the coke she was drinking out, flushing red and giving Kagome a dirty look. "Of course not! My brother's in the hospital!"

                Kagome went from dreamy happy to shocked horror. "I'm so sorry! I didn't even know you had a brother!"

                Sango nodded sadly. "The fire that destroyed my home in the mountains with the rest of the clan left him in a coma. I came here to Tokyo because they said he might have a better chance of recovery here."

                Kagome gave Sango a comforting hug. "I'm sure he'll get better soon."

                "I hope so…he used to come watch me on Sports Days." Sango laughed sadly at some stray memory. "Kohaku was never very athletic himself but he loved watching sports and always cheered me on at my games. He was starting to try out for a baseball team when the fire happened…"

                "Oh Sango-chan…"

              Sango wiped the tears in her eyes away furiously before they could fall. "Would you like to come with me to visit him? I was going to go and see how he was doing today."

                Kagome smiled gently as she said, "I'd love to."

*              *              *              *              *              *

                Rin peeked into Kohaku's room, the sound of monitors beeping assaulting her ears. Sango was there again but with a friend this time, sitting by Kohaku's bed and talking about some festival. "Sango-sama?"

                "Ah, Konnichiwa, Rin-chan," Sango said, her voice a bit cracked, "How are you?"

Rin immediately walked over, watching the older girl with big eyes. "Rin's fine but why is Sango-sama crying?"

                "It's a grown up thing," she said with a tiny laugh before turning towards the other girl. "Kagome-chan, this is Rin. Rin-chan, this is my friend Kagome."

                "Konnichiwa, Rin-chan." Kagome looked at the little girl's hand curiously, "Who's that flower for?"

                "Rin brought it for Sango-sama's otouto!" she said brightly, handing it to Sango, "Rin brought it so Sango-sama's otouto will get better and Sango-sama won't be sad no more."

                "That's sweet Rin-chan, Arigatou gozaimasu." Setting the girl down in her lap comfortably, she held out a ticket towards her. "My school is having a festival for Sports Day…would you like to come with us, Rin-chan?"

                It seemed impossible for Rin's eyes to be any wider. "Sugoi! Rin like festivals! Rin go ask Sesshomaru-sama!"

                "Sesshomaru-sama?" Sango whispered to herself in confusion, "Who's that?"

                "Her doctor; he's also Inuyasha's half-brother. I remember hearing something about Sesshomaru taking care of a little girl who was in a car accident and nearly died like the rest of her family…" Kagome murmured, "I guess that's her."

*              *              *              *              *              *

                "For the last time, _NO!"_

                "You have to get a job! Otou-sama refuses to give in on anymore free rent!"

                Sango sighed, toying with the ticket as she sat at the table doing her homework with her headphones on. Even through the music, Mizuki and Miroku's bickering could be heard. They looked like an old married couple; they even acted like it.

                _I wonder if they ever dated, Sango thought idly, her homework forgotten, __They get along like friends but its hard to believe Houshi-sama would pass even his best friend up. She's beautiful, talented and can certainly put him in his place… Sango shook her head rapidly; why did she even care?_

                "Fine! Don't get a job!" Mizuki finally huffed, a glint in her eyes that made Miroku lose his triumphant grin and raise a questioning eyebrow, "You'll just have to ask your parents for the money then!"

                _THAT made Miroku pale until he was as white as Sango's bed sheets. "No way! I can't do that! The only reason they let me live on my own is because I don't ask them for money! They'd make me move back and I'd never get any privacy!" He let out a sad sigh as he muttered something about never being able to have pretty girls in his room anymore. "Besides, what would Sango do for a home then?!"_

                "Don't bring me into this," Sango protested; she was in full agreement with Mizuki and didn't want to be his escape card into getting out of a job.

                "Right! Besides, she could always live with me if she needed a place to say!" The land lady smirked as she saw Miroku desperately trying to search his brain for a good excuse.

                It came to him as he grinned, looping an arm around her shoulders. "Come on Zuki-chan…can't you try again for your best friend in the whole wide world?" Miroku ignored her disbelieving snort. "For all the good times we had those years ago?"

                For some reason, that made the girl pause and think. She huffed after a minute of silent debate, finally growling out, "Whatever; one more month!" before storming out the door with a loud bang.

                Sango blinked in confusion; so maybe they _DID have something before. "What was that about?"_

                Was it just her imagination or did the lecher look sad for a moment? "Nothing…just something between Zuki-chan and I." Within a moment he had his well constructed happy mask on, grinning as he sat across from her at the table. "So…Kagome-sama says the Sports Day Festival is coming up in a few days. Are you doing anything in it?"

                "Exhibitions for the fencing, martial arts and soccer clubs," she said idly, fiddling with the ticket more. She could already feel heat creeping up her cheeks. "Ne, Houshi-sama…"

                "Hai, Sango?" Damn his smile; he was enjoying her blush.

                "Would you like to come see it?" She held out the ticket, her head turned to the side as she tried to hide her blush in a futile attempt. Sango tensed as he took it, his hands wrapping around hers gently making her look towards him with an even brighter blush. _What is the sukebe doing?!_

                "I'd be honored to, Sango." There was a cloud of seriousness in his eyes that Sango couldn't understand. "I'll cheer you on with the others."

                Did he realize what those words were doing to her heart? Sango wondered idly if he could hear it pounding against her rib cage. "Kagome-chan told you, didn't she?"

                Sango watched him intently, mildly irritated. She hated being pitied and it looked as if he were going to lie, but he digressed and finally sighed, "Yes she did." When she moved to take her hand away, he grasped it tighter. "I'm sorry about your brother…if you need to talk to anyone…just know you can talk to me if you need to, OK?"

                Sango looked at his speculatively before relaxing; maybe there was more to him then just a perverted hentai. "Arigatou gozaimasu." She slowly stood, a small part of her mind protesting about the lack of warmth on her hand. "I think I'll just go study in my room for awhile."

                "I'm cooking tonight so is there anything you want?" he asked, "I was going to go to the store to pick up a few things anyway."

                "Anything is fine," Sango called before shutting the door, leaning her back against it as she gave a small smile. She could hear Miroku shuffling around in search of his wallet that suspiciously never seemed to empty. _This Miroku I could get used to, Sango thought with a wistful sigh, t__oo bad he's normally such a damn sukebe...he's a lot more appealing this way._

*              *              *              *              *              *

                "Sugoi!" Rin hopped up and down in unconcealed excitement as she entered the school grounds with Kirara in her arms, Miroku, Shippou and Mizuki following. Candy booths and exhibitions were setup everywhere, each and every one attracting the little girl's attention.

                "Sango said archery was first and then the fencing, tennis and track exhibits before lunch. Soccer, basketball and martial arts," Miroku said as Rin made him follow her to the candy stand for some cotton candy. Dutifully paying, he let the little girl drag him every which way, inwardly smiling. 

He wanted this someday; he wanted a little girl of his own to spoil rotten and protect from the harsh reality they lived in. He could see Kagome's little brother Sota and Inuyasha near the archery setup, watching Kagome practice. Miroku wanted a son too, one he could teach everything he knew and tease when he got a girlfriend.

                _You have to settle down first, sukebe, that snide voice in his head quipped. Miroku wished he could smack it away but he would probably look psychotic smacking himself in the head._

                He had thought he'd found the one for him with Mizuki, but fate had kicked him in the ass with her. They had met their first year in high school and had lasted 3 years; his only long term relationship. Only a year ago did the big secret come out and any hope of settling down – which he had been seriously thinking about – was crushed because of one damned secret.

                That had been the main reason he'd become such a lecherous guy; his first and only long term relationship had crushed him hard. He still wasn't fully over it and he didn't want to tie himself to one girl, only to have his heart crushed as it had been. He had been young and jumped into a relationship, heart and all then; he'd been foolish. Not now; everything was working well. Grope, fool around and keep your heart out of any girl's reach; that was his policy now.

                "Rin-chan certainly seems to like you," Mizuki quipped as she fell into stride with Miroku, walking towards the bleachers to watch the archery contest. Kagome and her cousin Kikyou were among the competitors, Inuyasha a few rows down on the bleachers fidgeting. Apparently, he wasn't all that at ease with both girls being in such a close proximity of him. Rin was sitting next to them with Kirara and Shippou in her lap, feeding them cotton candy that Shippou seemed to especially like. "But why are you so quiet? You haven't groped or flirted with one girl since we entered the school."

                "I don't always grope women," Miroku protested feebly. Mizuki fixed him with an incredulous. "Well I don't!"

                "You were thinking about it again." It was more a statement then question. "I can see it in your eyes, Miroku. You never could hide anything from me."

                "I do miss those days," he sighed, regrettably, "I had seriously been thinking about…"

                "Don't think about it anymore; thinking about those times only depress us both," she half growled at him but softened her voice as she said, "But if it makes you feel any better, I miss those days too. If you had asked, it would have made the break up harsher then it already was so it was good you never got the chance to." She took his hand that was resting on the cold metal bleachers hesitantly. "We're still good friends now, ne?"

                He cracked a small smile, "Yeah, I'm glad for that."

                His hand not so subtly moved towards her butt.

                **_::CRACK::_**

                "Sugoi! Mizuki-sama is strong! Miroku-sama went right through the metal bleachers!"

*              *              *              *              *              *

                 "That was right in the center!"

                "She was off!"

                "She made it!"

                "Off!"

                "Made it!"

                Kagome sighed, pulling on the back of Inuyasha's red shirt to pull him away from fighting with the judge. "My arrow was off of the bulls eye so lets just go! We'll be late for the fencing exhibition!"

                With an angry, "Feh," Inuyasha and Kagome walked away, Inuaysha flipping the judge a bird when Kagome wasn't watching. It elicited a few yells from the man but he ignored them.

                "That wasn't very sportsman like, Inuyasha," Kagome scolded as she dragged him onto the bleachers. Sango was down in front practicing with the flimsy fencing sword, tugging at the stuffy white uniform in discomfort. From what Kagome had seen, Sango was an excellent swordswoman but did better with the old katana she had.  "I thought you'd be glad Kikyou won anyway." The bitterness in her tone was covered by the sadness.

                Inuyasha opened his mouth to explain when Kagome shushed him, the fencing competition starting. Scowling and crossing his arms, he leaned back and watched with only mild interest, already knowing Sango would probably come out the winner.  He'd never understand what women wanted, especially the one beside him.

*              *              *              *              *              *

                "I forgot how fun Sports Day was!" Sango exclaimed, stretching. She was in her soccer uniform already so she could save time in changing. All she needed to do was put her pads on before she went out.

                "You did great in the fencing exhibit. Everyone went out pretty quick," Miroku said with a hint of admiration in his tone. She had looked so graceful in her movements, knowing exactly where to hit and when.

                "So you and Kagome have until 12:30 to walk around, ne?" Mizuki queried.

                The two girls nodded. "Neither of us is racing in the track meets. They're letting people sign up and race too."

                Wistful grins slid onto Miroku and Mizuki's faces. "I remember the last time we raced…" Miroku smiled at his companion cheekily. "I won of course."

                She snorted in the most undignified way she could. "Yeah right; I out ran you by a mile."

                "Did not!"

                "Did to!"

                "In your dreams maybe!"

                Miroku grinned wider, pointing to the booth where they were signing people up for the race. "Prove it then!"

                She glared at him murderously. "I don't have to prove anything to you!"

                "Because you know I'm right."

                That did it. Mizuki stormed over to the booth, raging mad and slammed her palms on the booth as she hissed, "Sign me up!"

                "Mizuki-san is freaking scary…" Kagome murmured to Sango who nodded.

                Miroku was grinning wildly as he joined her, signing himself up and taking the irate girl away before she scared Kouga any worse then she already was.

                "Have Mizuki-san and Houshi-sama ever gone out?" Sango asked curiously. If anybody would know, Inuyasha would, right?

                The dog boy snorted in indignation. "Of course they did. All three years of high school they dated and it was sickening. They were the sappiest couple this side of Tokyo."

                "It was sweet," Kagome protested, "They competed like this all the time but they did really like each other. It's a shame they suddenly broke up after graduating…no one knows why and they never had any problems. Some say she fell for someone else and others say he fooled around with some other girl but its all rumor. Neither will tell anyone what happened either."

                "Sou ka…" Sango watched them in fascination as the two tore up the tracks, leaving everyone else in the dust they kicked up, "They seem to be good friends though now…"

                "Good friends that still have a thing for each other," Inuyasha snorted.

                Sango only seemed mildly surprised; she had suspected that somewhat. "I bet he fooled around with another girl."

                "Maybe, but why would the bouzou buy an engagement ring the day before they broke up?"

                That news made even Kagome gawk. "_NANI?!"_

                Inuyasha nodded. "I was with the idiot. He'd been planning on asking her to marry him after they graduated from Tokyo U but the next day he came stumbling into our apartment saying it was over and drank until he passed out. I think he still has the ring somewhere since it was so freakin' expensive." Inuyasha snorted disdainfully. "Why would you spend that much on a stupid ring?"

                "Maybe that's why Miroku-sama suddenly started acting so perverted a year ago…" Sango heard Kagome murmur.

                She didn't listen to them musing anymore; Sango was focused on the young man racing around the track with Mizuki who was yelling at him about never losing to him but laughing while doing so. She couldn't place Miroku -- a guy who seemed unable to ever settle down --, in her mind with a young man buying an engagement ring that would tie him to one person forever; it just didn't click in her mind. If what Kagome said was true, it had to be something really big for Miroku to become such a pervert that she knew. The question was what had happened?

                And did she really want to know?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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**_So how am I doing? I hope this wasn't too corny…so how was it? I'll explain the 'secret' in the next chapter!_**

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	4. Unveiled & Awakened

**_Here's Chapter 3. _**

**_Just to clear things up to…I DON'T intend on making Mizuki butt into S&M's relationship. This story isn't going into the drama genre TOO much._**

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**_Oh, and as for dream_plane's complaints:_**

**_The over using the term pervert for Miroku issue that was brought up - I'm aware he hasn't acted perverted much but lets pretend he's been a lecherous guy in between scenes. I'm also aware that he has other characteristics; he wouldn't be my absolute favorite if he didn't have anything going for him ^^_**

****

**_Sango's family – I know it sounds completely ridiculous but bear with me; I couldn't think of anything better. Have you seen Love Hina? I got the idea from how Motoko's family does sort of the same thing. It wasn't a really major detail anyone needed to remember so I didn't give it much thought._**

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**_Quick Japanese:_**

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**_Sukebe/Hentai: Perverted_**

**_Hai/Iie: Yes/No_**

**_Ane-ue: Older sister_**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Miroku & Sango: The Ecchi & the Furious_

**_Written & Edited by: Yoshida Saori & Taijioku Christina_**

**_~:~ Chapter 3: Unveiled & Awakened ~:~_**

                Sango couldn't tear her eyes away from them; she just couldn't. All their friends had come over for an early Christmas bash – it was the last week in November; everyone seemed to be leaving the first week of December -- before everyone started going on vacation with their families for the holidays so the whole apartment was cramped. Mizuki and Miroku were always near each other, even if dancing with two other people.

                _They **DO seem to stick together all the time, Sango mused, **__I wonder why they split up. If what Inuyasha said was true then Mizuki-san had to have been the one to break up with him…but WHY!?_

                As much as she hated prying into other people's business, this problem wouldn't leave Sango's mind; the mystery was so complex that it had snagged Sango's interest. From what she had gathered from some people who knew the two when they were a couple, Miroku _HADN'T been the pervert he acted like now; in fact, from the way they described him it sounded like he had been the complete opposite. He had even thought of proposing but like Inuyasha had said, they had split up before he could ask her._

                "Sango-chan, is something wrong?" Kagome asked. She and Inuyasha were sitting next to the very confused girl, arms wrapped around each other. The holiday spirit must have been catching on because they seemed to have reconciled and were happy now.

                "I still don't get it," she muttered, "Why would they break up when everything was going great?"

                "Why don't you just ask them yourself?"

                "I couldn't! I don't want to pry!"

                Inuyasha gave her a disbelieving look. "And questioning their friends in secret isn't prying?"

                Sango sweat-dropped and sighed; dog boy had a point. Glancing at the balcony, she eyed Mizuki carefully as the girl sat on one of the chairs looking at the night sky in thought. "Maybe I will."

*              *              *              *              *              *

                Miroku watched Sango walk out and join Mizuki on the balcony, sighing. She had seemed distant for awhile now and he had begun to worry about her. She hadn't hit him for nearly 2 months now and he was starting to miss being beaten for groping her which he had been doing more increasingly.

                Standing up from the couch and leaving the girls that were hanging on him behind, he leaned on the wall next to the balcony doors and listened to the two girls as they began talking. _What are they talking about?_

*              *              *              *              *              *

                "What?" Mizuki was surprised at the question, to say the least.

                "I don't really want to pry but it just won't leave my mind…" Sango fidgeted; she really felt horrible for doing this. "Inuyasha had said you and Houshi-sama were really close but suddenly broke up…it just seemed odd and I was just curious as to why…"

                Mizuki rubbed her head; damn that dog boy, he had to go and talk about that. She knew Sango was a curious girl so it was no wonder she wanted to know but still... "I really hate talking about those times…" she turned and glared at the white haired boy who suddenly froze as he felt a chill, "But I can see why you'd be curious. I guess it wouldn't hurt for me to tell you at least…"

                "You don't have to if it's that bad."

                "I think it's time someone knew about it."

                Mizuki and Sango turned to see Miroku stepping onto the balcony, closing the sliding doors so no one could hear them. He had a small frown as he stared ahead at the lights that made up Tokyo's sky, the winter wind not even making him cold. Apparently, his sweater and coat kept him warm enough. "We've kept it a secret for a year now…besides, it's irritating to only know parts of a story so odd, right?"

                Sango nodded, that feeling of guilt growing. She really felt bad about asking them this. "It's really OK…I don't need to know."

                "It would be nice to talk about it with someone…so would you listen anyway?" There was a certain pleading in Miroku's eyes as he sat down at the small table with the two girls. Sango's resolve crumbled under the look; he looked so miserable like that. Nodding slowly, she finally sat back and let them talk.

                "We met in our first year of high school. I had seen him around in junior high but we never truly met then. We were both big sports people and we were both on the track team." Mizuki smiled slightly. "It was nice…everyday we'd practice and become closer until he finally asked me out."

                "She agreed readily of course." Miroku ignored her snort. "So Mizuki and I began dating and it was wonderful. We rarely fought and the friendly competition we had during track meets was always fun."

                "After a year and a half of dating, I finally decided to bring him home to my mother." Mizuki gave an irritated sigh. "By then I had completely fallen head over heels for him…I mean…he always brought me flowers on my birthday and took me to such nice places…it was hard not to. My mother seemed to like him as well but I suppose I should have known things were going too well."

                Miroku was frowning deeply at the glass table. "I had fallen for her hard too. As I'm sure Inuyasha mentioned, I had seriously been considering asking her to marry me. After we graduated, I decided I would propose but I wanted Mizuki's mom to give me her blessing first."

                "My mom wasn't happy in the least." Mizuki scowled and Miroku's fist was clenching tightly by now. "It was then that she finally decided that I might want to know that her husband wasn't my father; I was the product of a one night stand."

                "My father was always a womanizer, just like his father." Miroku seemed frustrated as he looked at the sky and took a few deep breaths. "He had had many women before but when he got my mother pregnant with me, he decided it was time he settled down. He had fallen in love with her after all, so it helped him forget his lecherous ways. What he didn't know was that another woman he had slept with got pregnant as well."

                Sango's stomach churned; they couldn't possibly be saying what she was thinking they were. _But look at them…they DO have black hair and blue eyes…they DO look similar…_

                "My mother knew it for a year and a half…she _KNEW who Miroku was and yet she said nothing!" Mizuki had reached full blown rage as she slammed her fist into the balcony railing and Miroku didn't look too far from doing the same. "She knew Miroku was my half-brother…yet she never said anything until she saw how serious it was…"_

                "We broke it off immediately after that because it would have been too awkward and _WRONG…" Miroku gave a long sigh as he rubbed his temple, "Mizuki moved in with the father she grew up knowing -- the guy who owns this place -- and I moved out of my parent's house a few months later because it became hard for me to look my father in the eye. We're like best friends now but we never told anyone why we broke up because my family has enough scandals circulating around Japan as it is…" Looking up, he saw Sango's shocked and slightly horrified look. "Can you keep this a secret between the three of us?"_

                Sango nodded emphatically; _THAT certainly explained a whole lot. "But why are you such a pervert; you keep groping any woman we see."_

                Miroku grinned, but it wasn't his usual grin. It was rueful, his hands gently grasping hers like they had when he found out about Kohaku and her family. "I suppose it's for my safety."

                Sango blinked, confused; safety from what? She didn't ponder the thought much, her mind instead registering the warmth of his hands. "I'm sorry I made you both tell me this…"

                "It's alright, Sango-chan." Mizuki gave her a reassuring smile. "It was actually a relief to tell someone."

                Miroku nodded, standing as he grinned wildly and said, "Now why don't we go inside? There's still a few hours left to party!"

                Both the girls nodded, Sango smiling as he pushed the door open with an over dramatic bow, motioning for them to go first. For once, Miroku didn't grope Sango's behind when he followed her in, but instead grabbed her hand before she could go sit back down with Kagome and Inuyasha. "Sango…"

She turned her head towards him, a light blush flushing her cheeks.  "What is it, Houshi-sama?"

                The smile he flashed her made Sango's heart race. "Well, could you call me Miroku? _'Houshi-sama' makes me feel so old and…" he trailed off as the music changed to a slow Christmas ballad, raising an eyebrow at Mizuki when she dimmed the lights and winked at him. "Would you like to dance with me?"_

                Sango didn't think her face could get any redder. Looking around, she could see everyone was dancing, even Kagome and Inuyasha who had the tell tale signs of a smile as he held her close. Sighing, she nodded. "Alright…" She looked up and glared at him sharply though, startling Miroku slightly. "But if you dare try to grope me…" she trailed off threateningly.

                Miroku raised his hands in the air and smiled amusedly. "I promise. No groping."

                Sango smiled, satisfied. "OK then." Hesitantly, she wrapped her arms around his neck, Miroku's arms sliding around her waist, his hands being extra careful _NOT to move down in their habitual groping routine. They swayed to the melody of chimes and piano chords, Sango relaxing enough after awhile to rest her head on his shoulder and let her eyes close. Miroku glanced at her when Sango's grip became more relaxed, smiling as he wrapped his arms more securely around her. __She's so beautiful when she smiles… he mused, __I had forgotten how nice it was to feel like this…_

                Mizuki and Kagome glanced at the two through the crowd before looking at each other and grinning at each other over their partner's shoulders. "Maybe you were right, Kagome-chan. I think they may like each other."

                Kagome grinned triumphantly. "I know! We have to help them get together!"

                Both girls had a glint in their eyes not worth trusting as Mizuki said, "Hai."

*              *              *              *              *              *

                Rin stifled a sigh as she sat in Kohaku's room, blinking at him as he just lay there, unmoving. All the other kids were in their rooms talking with family who were visiting them but she didn't have anyone to visit her except Sango who had started to make a trip to see her whenever she stopped by to see Kohaku.

                Speaking of the boy, Rin didn't know why she always came here to sit and just stare at him. It wasn't as if he was going to wake up anytime soon but Sango still talked to him, right? Maybe it would help make her feel better if she told him what was on her mind…

                "I miss my mama and papa…" Rin shifted in the large chair as she leaned on Kohaku's bed side, her head resting on her folded arms as her legs kicked the air under her chair back and forth. "Sesshomaru-sama says mama and papa went to the land in the sky…Sango-sama said her parents went there to. Do you think my mama and papa met your mama and papa and they're friends now? Do you thing they're watching over us?" Rin let a tiny sigh out as she only heard the beeping monitors. "Rin is lonely…Rin wishes you'd wake up so you and Rin can be friends…"

                Unknown to her, the hand just by her head began moving, a pair of chocolate brown eyes slowly but surely cracking open. His mouth moved as he said silent words, managing to crack out in a dry voice, "Ane-ue…"

*              *              *              *              *              *

                "I'll see you later Sango-chan!"

                Sango nodded, waving as Kagome and Inuyasha left. The party had ended but the once pristine apartment was a disaster area, crumpled napkins, empty to half filled cups and half eaten food littering the place as far as the eye could see. Shippou and Kirara were dutifully hitting all the crumpled napkins into a pile in the middle of the floor, hitting them with their noses or paws in what Kagome would call a _'cute moment'. Mizuki was collecting paper dishes and cups to throw them out while Miroku worked on taking inventory, checking that no one swiped anything. Apparently, some of his friends like to swipe things from him._

                Sighing, Sango shook her head with a small smile as she went to work on sweeping all the crumbs from the tile floor. She'd have to get Miroku to help her beat the crumbs out of the throw rug under the coffee table and couch tomorrow, as well as clean the afore mentioned couch of crumbs and stuff.

                "People are such pigs," Mizuki muttered, her nose wrinkling in disgust as she picked a cup of beer from a plant, "Have they not heard of something called a garbage can? This is why I never give parties at my apartment."

                "I've seen worse." She had too; the parties her clan gave had sometimes ended with a roof being destroyed or a house set on fire because the men got too drunk.

                "I'll bet." Standing on a chair, Mizuki stood on her tiptoes trying to get food out of the kitchen light fixture. "How the hell did food get thrown in here?"

                Neither girl really wanted to know the answer to that.

                An angry yell suddenly ripped through the quiet apartment, causing them all to jump in surprise. Mizuki fell off the chair and over the counter, right into the pile of napkins sending them flying everywhere. Shippou and Kirara didn't look too happy and Mizuki was growling in the direction of Miroku's room while rubbing her now aching back.

                "Damn that Inuyasha!" Miroku looked really mad as he stormed out of his room, holding his clothes that had been shredded to pieces. "I knew he was mad about me making too many dog jokes but he didn't have to shred my clothes!"

                Mizuki snorted in laughter. "Like a typical dog, I tell you. I swear he's part dog."

                Shippou had the grace to look insulted at his master's insinuation that the mean man was a part of his species.

                "You'll just have to go shopping for some new clothes." Sango eyed a very loud Hawaiian shirt with a smirk. "Inuyasha kind of did you a favor anyway."

                Miroku was about to defend his fashion sense when the phone rang; he'd have to get Sango back for her crack at his favorite shirt later. Picking up, his lips curled to a frown before he extended it towards the girl. "Sango, it's the hospital."

                It was he turn to frown, fidgeting with a piece of her long dark brown hair that had fallen loose from her ponytail. "Hello?"

                **_"Taijiya Sango-san?"_**

****

**_                "Hai?" She crossed her fingers, hoping for good news._**

                **_"We have some news about your brother, Taijiya Kohaku. Could you come down here right away please?"_**

                "H-hai." Hanging up, Sango swallowed the lump in her throat and slowly moved to get her coat. "They have news about Kohaku…they want to see me at the hospital now…"

                Mizuki and Miroku shared a look before Miroku stepped forward, grabbing his keys. "I'll drive you."

*              *              *              *              *              *

                By the time they made it to the doctor's office, Sango had begun to think the worse. Sesshomaru kept a stoic mask on; it was just like how it was in Kyoto when the doctor came in and told her that her parents didn't make it. Now he'd sit there and tell her how sorry he was and that Kohaku wouldn't wake up; ever.

                Sesshomaru watched her with an amused eye. "Taijiya-san, are you alright?"

                She nodded. "How is he? What's wrong?"

                He flicked a piece of his shimmering white hair behind him. "Didn't my assistant Jaken tell you?"

                "Tell me what? All he said was you had news about Kohaku and to get down here right away."

                Sesshomaru rolled his eyes; why did he keep that morbid old man as an assistant? That explained the girl shaking as if she were expecting the worst; she _WAS expecting the worst. "I do have news on your brother." He paused for effect. "He's awake. Rin has been keeping him company for the past hour."_

                Could her smile get any bigger? With a hurried thank you she darted out of the room, the man who came with her following her down the halls. Shaking his head, Sesshomaru buzzed Jaken into his office; he needed to have a discussion with the old man about freaking his patient's family out and his punishment. Perhaps he'd let Rin use him as a Barbie again.

*              *              *              *              *              *

                Kohaku stared at the TV attentively, listening as Rin continued talking about who each character was on her favorite cartoon tape that her guardian had gotten for her 9th birthday. Nodding as she pointed to the fluffy hamster thing, he turned his head to the room door just as it opened with a loud _'bang'. "Ane-ue!"_

                "Kohaku…" Sango practically crushed Kohaku as she cried, hugging him tightly. "You're OK…you're awake…"

                Miroku smiled, watching her cry her heart out and listen to Kohaku as he tried to calm her down. Rin had turned her attention towards them before walking to Miroku, thoroughly confused. "I thought Sango-sama wanted Kohaku-sama awake. Why is Sango-sama crying harder now that he is?"

                "She's just really happy, Rin-chan." Distracting her attention from interrupting Sango, he steered Rin back towards the TV asking, "So who are they?"

                Afterwards, Miroku never wanted to hear another thing about the annoyingly cute hamster.

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**_The cast of Hamtaro ARE annoyingly cute; but that's not the point. Anyway, so how was this? Miroku's 'secret' isn't deadly or anything; just severely twisted._**

****

**_Read and Review! All flames will be fed to Kirara for dinner._**


	5. Why Girls Never go to the Mall with Men

**_Chapter 4, coming up! More Sango & Miroku sap scenes are coming up; especially in Chapter 5! I hope you enjoy this installment so R&R!_**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Miroku & Sango: The Ecchi & the Furious_

**_Written & Edited by: Yoshida Saori & Taijioku Christina_**

**_~:~ Chapter 4: Why Girls Never go to the Mall with Men ~:~_**

                The day seemed to be brighter then the sun as Miroku leaned against the driver side door, hands shoved into his pockets. Sango was inside, doing whatever she had to do to get Kohaku released. Perhaps he was so happy because Sango had been smiling since the moment she got up and his smile hadn't been dropped since either.

                "Rin no want you to go!"

                Turning around, Miroku watched as Jaken tried unsuccessfully to get Rin to let go of Kohaku's arm. She had become rather attached to the boy and now she obviously didn't want him to leave.

                "Gomen nasai, Rin, but I have to…" Kohaku was feeling just as bad about leaving her behind. "I'll come visit you still though, right ane-ue?"

                Sango nodded. "Of course; you're a dear friend to us so we'll be back to see you."

                Rin sniffled, reluctantly letting Kohaku's arm go. "You promise you'll come see Rin again?"

                The siblings nodded, walking to the car where Miroku was waiting, opening the back door in a gentlemanly fashion and speaking in a cheesy voice as he said, "Your chariot awaits, Lady Sango, Lord Kohaku."

                Sango let a tiny snort go as she held her laughter back. "That is corny."

                Kohaku laughed, sitting in the back seat and waving to Rin from the side window as the other two got in.  As the car pulled away, he waved to Rin from the rear window, sitting down when she was out of sight. "Ane-ue?"

                "Hai, Kohaku?"

                He smiled; he hadn't had a chance to ask Sango his question yet. "Is Miroku-san your boyfriend?"

                Sango blanched and Miroku almost veered off the road, drivers honking as he swerved. Sango turned around and Miroku looked at him through the rear view mirror, surprised. The blush on Sango's face couldn't be any deeper. "What are you talking about, Kohaku?! Of course he's not!"

                He sighed in disappointment, playing with his short ponytail of hair. "Oh…I thought you would have gotten a fiancé or at least a boyfriend by now. Didn't you say the council told you that you needed a husband before…the fire…" he trailed off a bit sadly.

                "Really?" Miroku queried, glancing at Sango out of the corner of his eye while she turned red from head to toe, "I didn't know that."

                "I don't need a husband!" she huffed indignantly, fighting to push her blush down, "Besides, were not in the clan anymore." She cast Kohaku a look through the mirror that told him to drop the subject.

                Kohaku did, but noted Miroku's slight change of expression. _So ane-ue at least has an admirer… "Where are we going?"_

                "The mall; Kagome-sama and Inuyasha are meeting us there to help buy you some clothes." Miroku spared a glance at the over-sized black shirt and jeans that he had to borrow from Inuyasha; it was either that or go butt naked, but he didn't think people would like seeing him go around naked…though he would have liked to see Sango's expression if he chose the latter. "I have to buy some clothes too…and then we have Christmas shopping to do."

                Sango looked rather pointedly at the five inch thick stack of paper near her feet. "Who are you buying gifts for anyway?"

                The perverted grin that Miroku hadn't had in awhile spread across his face. "Well, there's Itsuko, Keiko, Asuka, Naru, Rouri, Maki, Haruna…and of course Mizuki and Kagome-sama, among others."

                A vein popped out of Sango's forehead. _Has he been with the whole town or something?! "Who are they?"_

                Miroku grinned. _She looks beautiful when she's mad. "Some ****__VERY special ladies..."_

*              *              *              *              *              *

                "Why did I have to come along?" Inuyasha didn't want to go shopping all day on a Saturday and made it known every five minutes.

                "Someone has to help us carry everything. Besides, you were the one who shredded all of Miroku-sama's clothes to ribbons!"

                Inuyasha snorted disdainfully. "Not like he didn't need new ones."

                Kagome chose not to respond to that.

                "Kagome-chan!" Sango came running up with Kohaku in tow, casting a glance at Miroku who had a fresh stinging hand print on his face for groping Sango when he helped her out of the car. Sango's smile wasn't faltering much, kept in high spirits because of Kohaku's release. "Sorry were late!"

                "It's OK!" She smiled at Kohaku who was looking at Inuyasha oddly. "Konnichiwa, Kohaku-kun."

                "Ane-ue, isn't he that dog spirit we fought a year ago," he whispered making Sango crack a small snicker. He _DID look like a spirit that had possessed some of the clan men, but apparently the dog part of it didn't settle well with Inuyasha._

                "I'm not a dog, kid," he growled, teeth that looked deceptively like fangs showing.

                Kohaku didn't miss it. "Then why do you have fangs?" he asked, pointing to Inuyasha's teeth. "And claws too?" He pointed to his pointed nails. He was about to point to the hair that was standing up like dog ears but Inuyasha growled at him, making Kohaku jump back by his sister.

                Sango motioned him towards the nearest clothes store. "Let's go…that tattered gi is attracting too much attention, Kohaku."

                "Isn't he just adorable?" Kagome gushed, "I wish Sota were well behaved like him."

                "Cute? Feh!" At least Sota never compared him to a dog.

*              *              *              *              *              *

                "I don't know…" the blushing sales clerk shifted uneasily under the black haired young woman's gaze. Did she have to have such pretty pale blue eyes? They were making it impossible for him to resist.

                "It'll be fun, I promise," she needled, holding his hand and smiling an ever dazzling smile that made his knees weak. The handsome man a few feet by grinned proudly as he glanced at them out of the corner of his eye; yep, she definitely had his blood in her. She was without a doubt his daughter.

                "I can't! My boss is right behind you…I have to work!" The poor boy was sweating bullets.

                "He won't mind…ne, Hatori-san?" Mizuki grinned as the boy paled ten shades whiter, positive that he was going to get fired for flirting with the customer.

                "I don't mind in the least. Take her up on her offer, Koushiro-kun."

                Koushiro pulled an incredulous face, his glasses sliding to the tip of his nose. What had just happened? His boss _ENCOURAGED him to flirt with the customers?_

                Mizuki was about to turn her full attention to Koushiro again when all the women in the store began crowding around someone squealing, _"Kawaii!" Interest perked, she delayed her flirting with the cute knew store cashier to check out what the big deal was._

                Kohaku practically hid behind Miroku, the squealing girls scaring the living daylights out of him. Miroku was flirting with every single one of them, making him rethink his theory about the man before him liking his sister. "Miroku-san, why are they all crowding around us?"

                "Because you have a gift none of us men have, tragically," he said sadly before smiling disarmingly at the nearest girl, "And who might you be, lovely one? I'm abashed that I did not notice your pretty face sooner."

                Hatori's ears perked at the all too familiar line. He'd heard it too many times coming from his own mouth not to know who it was. _So Miroku's here…but my son never got this much attention before. What's he doing to attract all these pretty girls? Curiosity getting the best of him, he walked over to see just as Mizuki spotted the reason._

                "Please tell me you didn't kidnap this poor boy to attract women," Mizuki hissed next to him. Miroku merely grinned and shook his head. He hadn't really _KIDNAPPED him…he just took Kohaku and lost the others in the large department store. This boy was a girl __MAGNET for crying out loud with his innocent looks and baby face! How could he resist coming to his mother's shop, the top place where females between 15 and 25 huddled? Kohaku's shyness around people practically __CRIED for attention to the female species; the boy didn't know what a gift he had!_

                "I did no such thing; you think that bad of me?" he asked with mock hurt before smiling his disarming smile again and turning to another pretty lass. "What might your name be, pretty one? You must forgive a fellow for not knowing the name of such a breathtaking beauty such as yourself."

                Mizuki sighed, eyeing Koushiro who had gone back to work pricing manga books that needed to be put out. _Oh well…Sango-chan will handle him anyway. Pushing her long black hair behind her, Mizuki flashed a smile similar to Miroku's before walking away calling, "Koushiro-kun!"_

                Hatori watched from the back, smiling in nothing short of pride. _They're my kids alright…_

*              *              *              *              *              *

                "Where is that sukebe?!" Sango stormed up and down the mall, Inuyasha and Kagome in tow with all the packages. She had not missed the attention women had given Kohaku – they had gotten a good discount because the manager had thought he was just so cute and their story was so tragic – and could only wonder what that sukebe was making her brother go through.

                She fell face first into the tile floor when she found her brother. Kohaku was enjoying himself, giving a little girl a flower and smiling a smile that looked eerily similar to Miroku's.

                _He's been teaching Kohaku his bad habits. The thought made Sango fume more and Kagome and Inuyasha went to go sit on the bench a few yards away, watching as Sango's aura literally flamed to life around her._

                Inuyasha smirked; the bouzou was _REALLY going to get it from her. Saturday at the mall was looking more interesting._

*              *              *              *              *              *

                Miroku sat across from his father in the office, Mizuki leaning against a desk as she regarded him seriously. Neither looked very amused like he did.

                "You've got to be kidding me," Mizuki said, breaking the silence, "Have Christmas at the house? I can't even look Aya-san in the eye without feeling uneasy."

                "Since she's pregnant and it is Christmas soon, Aya is feeling a bit nostalgic." Hatori pulled a face. "If I don't get the whole family to come she said she'll make sure I never get to touch her again."

                Mizuki and Miroku shuddered at the look on his face; neither of them wanted to think about what the two of them did in private but their minds did anyway. The things they thought of were enough to make them a bit green in the face.

                "Hatori-sama," Koushiro called through the closed office door, "There's a young lady out here who wishes to speak with Miroku-sama."

                Miroku beamed, straightening his hair and telling him to let her in. Hatori grinned amusedly at his son while Mizuki mused how the saying _'like father like son' was definitely an understatement in this case._

                "Where is he?!" Sango barged into the office, startling Hatori enough to make him blink while Miroku's grin dropped as soon as he saw her battle aura blazing. "What have you been teaching Kohaku?!"

                Miroku grinned nervously; if he escaped this with only a slap, he'd be eternally grateful. "Sango…there you are! Kohaku and I were looking for you…"

                She cast him the dirtiest glare he'd ever seen. "What in the world were you teaching him besides how to pick up little girls?!"

                Mizuki and Hatori sat back and kicked their feet up on the desk, picking on some candy Mizuki had in her pockets to feed to Shippou later; who were they to pass up free entertainment that was bound to be good? They were both interested in seeing how Miroku sweet talked his way out of this one.

*              *              *              *              *              *

                A few stores away, Kohaku, Inuyasha and Kagome could hear Sango's furious battle cry, followed by the vicious shaking that could only be her trying to beat Miroku to oblivion. Inuyasha couldn't hide his amused smirk and Kohaku began rummaging around his small bag of things that had been with him at the hospital, pulling out a small box and sighing.

                "What's that for?" Kagome asked innocently.

                Kohaku opened the plain wooden box and showed her all the medical supplies in it. "Chichi-ue always told me to carry this around in case ane-ue beat someone up. She did it a lot to the village boys back home. It was his thought to always be prepared for anything; including a woman's monthly storm, whatever that is…"

                Kagome had the decency to look abashed, deciding not to answer that as he closed the box. _Wait until Sango has to explain **THAT to him…I hope Miroku-sama doesn't do it for her…**_

                Kagome shuddered in horror at the thought.

*              *              *              *              *              *

                Sango ignored the stares people gave her as she dragged an unconscious Miroku along by the back of his collar, searching the parking lot for his car. Inuyasha was going to drive them back to the apartment, so once they found the large car Sango reluctantly searched her roommate for his keys. Padding his pants pockets, she dug into them to fish out the keys, frowning when she couldn't find them amongst the junk that Inuyasha kept cluttered in there and only brushed against Miroku's leg. "Where are they?"

                It would be her luck that Miroku chose that time to wake up.

                "Sango…what are you doing?" he queried with an amused grin making the girl jump back, blushing red.

                "Trying to find your keys!"

                Miroku grabbed the keys from his coat pocket and smirked. "Here they are."

                Inuyasha smirked and grabbed the keys before Miroku even knew who took them. "Great, I'm driving."

                Miroku paled, muttering prayers to Buddha before getting in; maybe Inuyasha's driving had gotten better since last time.

                The engine roared to life and Inuyasha screeched out of the parking space, speeding out of the parking lot and down the street on the wrong side, narrowly missing the cars before turning to the right side of the road.

                Miroku prayed they all just got home in one piece.

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**_So how was it? Good, bad? Leave a review and tell me!_**


	6. By the Fire's Light

**_Chapter 5, coming up! I'm so happy with all the good responses I'm getting for this!_**

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_Miroku & Sango: The Ecchi & the Furious_

**_Written & Edited by: Yoshida Saori & Taijioku Christina_**

**_~:~ Chapter 5: By  the Fire's Light ~:~_**

                Kohaku watched with a smile as Rin pranced around the apartment, wearing the new dress Sango had bought her for Christmas. Her guardian Sesshomaru had reluctantly let her come with them to Miroku's house for Christmas since he had to work in the hospital.

                Kohaku was looking forward to spending time with her; Rin was so cheerful it was hard not to smile when she was around. She always made him feel happy.

                Her cheerfulness wasn't helping the others though.

                "I can't do this! I can't! I can't! I can't!" Mizuki exclaimed for the umpteenth time. She was dreading staying in the same house with Aya and made no move to hide it. "Every time I see her she always gets this look in her eyes and I always end up feeling uneasy! I always remind her of Hatori-san's playboy days! I just know it!"

                "You're paranoid!" Miroku exclaimed as he paced behind her, trying to calm her down without much success, "My mother likes you!"

                "Do you try looking her in the eye when I'm in the same room?" she hissed, pulling her hair into a low ponytail with a blue ribbon Sango lent her to match her eyes, "Aya-san always gets this depressed look and I know she becomes just as uncomfortable as I do! I'm a living reminder of Hatori-san's eventful past!"

                "You'll be fine," Sango said, pushing the girl to sit down on the couch and calm down. Miroku couldn't help letting his eyes roam over her body appreciatively, the form fitting red dress covering to her knees with a white shirt to cover her bare shoulders. Red was certainly her color. _Yes, yes…always wear red, Sango…red suits you very nicely…_

                "I can't do this Sango-chan!" she cried out, nearing hysteria, "There is no way I can go!"

                **_::CRACK::_**

                Mizuki blinked, her head turned from the force of Sango's slap.

                "Get a hold of yourself, Mizuki-san!" Sango was mad and glared at her sternly.

                It took the girl a few moments to gather her wits back together before giving a relieved smile. "Arigatou gozaimasu, Sango-chan…I really needed that." She gave a sad sigh. "I just always feel like I'm the lowest person on earth when I'm around her…I'm the other woman's daughter…"

                "It could have gone the other way too you know," Miroku piped in, "You could have been the other man's daughter.  Mother was a wild girl in her days from what she told me…I'm not sure if she was as bad as my father or not but she did bed with a few men. She understands what happens and I highly doubt she holds a grudge against you because you're another woman's daughter."

                "I guess so." Looking at the clock, Mizuki stood and brushed her blue skirt with a huff, straightening her black cover up before turning towards Miroku who was still staring at Sango as she fixed Kohaku's shirt. "So are we going or are you going to stand there staring at Sango-chan all day, Miroku?"

                Sango blinked, looking at Miroku just in time to see him turn away. Was it her imagination…or was he blushing?

*              *              *              *              *              *

                Kohaku didn't know what he found more amazing; the large house that Miroku said he had lived in or the large woman in front of him gushing how cute Rin and him were. How could she stand straight with her stomach sticking out so far?

                "And you're Sango, Miroku's new roommate?"

                Sango nodded dumbly. On the way over, Miroku had given them a small warning that his mother may seem a bit intimidating. Even with her rather large stomach that clearly showed she was _VERY pregnant, the air of refinement and grace she gave off was intimidating. "Hai, Aya-san. I've heard many things about you."_

                Aya eyed them critically, her pale lavender eyes glancing over both of them before breaking out into a huge smile. "I'm so glad to finally meet you! Mizuki-chan had mentioned what a wonderful influence my Miroku-chan's new roommate was on him."

                Miroku glowered; he really wasn't looking forward to this…that is, until several little bodies ran out of the house in a small dust cloud and tackled him to the ground.

                "Miroku-niichan!"

                Sango blinked as the little kids crawled all over him, hugging and asking for presents that they were obviously expecting. She noticed the little girl was hugging him the tightest. _Are these kids Miroku's siblings?_

                "We missed you Onii-chan! Why were you gone so long?!" The oldest of the boys said, stomping his foot on the ground with his cheeks puffed out angrily; he looked about Kohaku's age.

                "Yeah! You haven't been to visit in months!" The one around Rin's age pouted.

                The third and youngest of the siblings looked about ready to cry as he whimpered, "Was Miroku-niichan mad at us?"

                "Miroku-niichan wasn't mad at us, ne?" the little girl clinging around his neck exclaimed, suddenly horrified.

                Miroku didn't know what to do, sweat-dropping as four pairs of big, shimmering eyes stared at him from all sides. "I was really busy with school…" He recollected himself, hoisting a big red bag from the back seat of his car. "I brought presents though."

                All four of them jumped up and down, cheering.

                "They're his brothers and sister," Mizuki clarified as Rin and Kohaku ran to go play with the other children, "The oldest is 12. The next one is 10, the girl is 7 and the youngest boy is 6."

                Sango nodded in understanding. _I'm surprised he didn't mention them before…_

                "Come on inside now before you all freeze out here," Aya said as she herded the little children in. 

Sango fell into step with Miroku as he let out a sigh of relief, giving him an amused smile. "I didn't know you had siblings; they're adorable."

                Miroku turned to give her a matching grin. "They're little demons in disguise." He ducked the smack to the head his father was about to give him as he passed him. "I love them though. They make any event interesting."

*              *              *              *              *              *

                After unpacking and having a nice lunch that Aya had prepared herself, Sango saw what Miroku meant by they made things interesting. The youngsters had all but thrown a tantrum before convincing Miroku to setup their Christmas tree which was all the way in the attic. Right now, his father could be heard shouting as they tried to bring everything down.

                "Kyah!"

                There were several yells before Hatori went tumbling down the steps, followed by Miroku who fell next to him. Both were mumbling vulgarities until a large plastic container – presumably filled with Christmas decorations -- came tumbling down the steps, crashing onto their backs making them let out a similar stream of very loud curses.

                "Oh dear, what happened?" Aya fretted over both of them worriedly once Mizuki and Sango hoisted them up, frowning when Hatori winced in pain.

                "His back went out again," Miroku muttered.

                "Is there any more containers upstairs that you need to get?" Sango asked.

                "One more; it's at the bottom of the second floor steps."

                "I'll get it then." Without a word, Sango went upstairs, walking down the immaculate hallway and studying the pictures idly. It was all of the family, especially of the children. _Miroku was cute as a kid, she noted idly as she saw one of him playing soccer with some other kids. He had a big smile and was laughing in earnest, holding up a peace sign to the camera._

                Shaking her head, Sango cut off her musings before eyeing the large container. It looked about ready to bust open and upon trying to lift it up Sango realized why they had so much trouble getting the first down. _This must way a ton! What's in here?!_

                "Is this it?" Sango called from over the railing, pushing the container along. Growing up in the mountains had done wonders for her strength and she was thankful for it now.

                "Yeah, do you think you could bring it down?"

                Sango eyed the thing skeptically. It was heavy and she could probably carry it for a minute or two at most but she'd never get down there in time; she'd end up like Miroku and his father. Almost as an after thought, she eyed the railing and gauged how far it was to the ground.  _I could always jump over…it's only about seven or eight feet so I could probably hold it until I got to the bottom._

                Kohaku saw where she was looking and paled. "Ane-ue, you're not thinking about jumping over it, are you?"

                "Of course." She lifted the container onto the railing. "It's not that far; I'll be fine."

                "Are you crazy? It's too dangerous!"

                "Sango, I'll help you bring it down." Miroku began walking up the stairs, wincing every few seconds because of his back.

                Sango shook her head. "With your back hurting so much that you can't walk up the steps? Do you really want to break it?"

                "You'll break yours if you jump over!"

                Sango shook her head. "I've done this before." Grabbing the sides of the container, she gave a leap and jumped over the railing to the first floor.

                Miroku's jaw went slack as she landed effortlessly on her feet. His family stood their amazed, clapping as she smiled and pushed the container along the floor. _Sango, Sango, Sango…you're going to give me a heart attack if you do things like this again._

                "See, Miroku? I told you I'd be fine." Sango looked at his slightly pale face curiously, her cheeks pinking slightly after a moment. "Were you that worried about me?"

                Miroku gave her his best grin. "Of course I was."

                Sango blushed a bright red. _He was really worried about me?_

                Sliding up to her side, Miroku let his hand move out, rubbing her bottom with that grin still on his face.

                The blush of embarrassment turned to anger. "_CAN'T YOU DO ANYTHING ELSE WITH THAT HAND OF YOURS!?"_

                **_::CRACK::_**

*              *              *              *              *              *

                The angry red handprint on his cheek was still there as Miroku laid there sprawled on the living room floor, setting the Christmas tree up in front of the large bay window. Sango was sitting on the bay seat with Mizuki and Kohaku untangling lights while Rin helped his father and siblings put up the stockings and sort through the decorations. His mother was in the kitchen, baking some apple turnovers that were making everyone's stomach growl.

                Sighing, Miroku vowed to find whoever made this tree that you had to screw the branches in and bolt them in to keep them straight; it was annoying to put up. Not to mention he still had to straighten the branches that were all tangled from being shoved in the containers for so long.

                Sango brooded and glared at him from her seat, one leg stretched out while the other was propped up. Miroku's home was nice and warm thanks to the fire roaring in the fireplace, shedding a reddish tint over the living room. Outside the estate was quiet, the Christmas lights illuminating the sky enough for Sango to see the snow that had begun to fall. She had to admit, his home was very cozy. Kirara and Shippou were curled up by the fireplace, enjoying the warmth and attention that the younger children were bestowing upon them. The peaceful atmosphere had calmed her considerably since his grope of her behind, glancing at Miroku again before sighing.

                Mizuki watched the scene with the faint traces of a smirk on her lips in the fire's light. "Sango-chan, why don't you help Miroku? Kohaku-kun and I can finish the rest of the lights."

                Sango paused a moment before catching the glint in both their eyes. Giving a sigh of resignation, she stood up and slowly walked over to the tree before sitting down and working on the branches opposite of Miroku. He gave her a surprised glance before smiling, sitting up and working on the bottom row. 

Every so often, he'd spare her a glance, admiring the silent determination in Sango's eyes. With the fireplace giving off their only source of light besides the small candles in the windows, her eyes looked like deep crimson pools, glaring at one particularly stubborn branch that was tangled so much she couldn't find the branch ends.

                _Beautiful, he thought admiringly, __even if she is in a plain yukata she's still beautiful. How do you manage to take my breath away, Sango? Miroku shook his head at the thought. __I did not just think that…it must be the atmosphere and lighting…yeah, that's it…I'm not falling for another girl again…_

*              *              *              *              *              *

                Rin yawned largely, her hands loosening their grip on the lights she was trying to help Kohaku untangle. She was tired but she had to help Kohaku finish untangling the strand first.

                "Are you tired, Rin?"

                Rin was nodding before she realized what she was doing and her eyes snapped open, her head shaking back and forth. "No! Rin's wide awake!"

                Kohaku gave her a disbelieving look. Even if she did her best, he could practically feel Rin's fatigue from his spot next to her. Blushing slightly, he swallowed the lump that suddenly formed in his throat and said, "You can lean on my shoulder if you want." That was what Miroku told him to do, wasn't it? When a lady is tired you offer to let her lean on your shoulder and then wrap an arm around her.

                She was reluctant but the offer of a warm and rather comfortable resting spot was too good to pass up. Leaning her head on his shoulder, Rin found it increasingly hard to actually work, her eyes drifting close and the light clump falling to her lap. Unconsciously, she snuggled closer to his side for more warmth, prompting Kohaku to blush harder.

                Confused as to why he was so embarrassed, Kohaku pushed it into the back of his mind before putting his arm around Rin's shoulders, feeling his body relax to her rhythmic breathing. It was hypnotic, lulling him to sleep before he even knew what hit him.

                Mizuki watched it all with a fond smile. Turning around and tapping Sango on the shoulder, she motioned towards the two sleeping children with a smile. Sango's face broke out into a large smile as well, giggling quietly as Mizuki gently pried the lights away from them.

                "Cute," Miroku commented under his breath as he peered around the tree. With their teamwork, Sango and him had almost finished, the only branches left being the very top ones. Casting one last glance at Kohaku and Rin, he smiled before going back to work. So entranced with it he didn't even notice Sango's hand as he went for the last one, his hand landing on top of hers.

                The physical contact made both of them come crashing to reality. Sango stared at their hands, her blush shooting up her neck and all the way to her ears. His hand seemed very comfortable on top of hers, slowly closing around her fingers. Looking up, she was met with his gentle smile. The fire glinted off of his sapphire eyes and she noticed they had the faintest tint of violet and grey.  _Kami…why do his eyes always do this? She mused to herself as she felt her knees start to buckle underneath her. __It's always like this whenever he looks straight at me…why do I get weak in the knees? Why can't I ever keep my composure? Breathing an inward sigh of annoyance, she maintained her composure and slowly pulled her hand away, avoiding eye contact. __It must be the fire's light or something…that's it…Too many of Kagome-chan's romance stories have gone to my brain._

                Miroku couldn't stop the small frown from appearing on his lips as she turned away. It had felt so undeniably warm her hand, the smooth skin under his palm sending something akin to a jolt of electricity through him. **_NO ONE had ever made he feel like that, and by just a mere touch of her skin? He let his mask slip back on and turned to gather the decorations, busying himself so he didn't have to contemplate it further. If he did, Miroku didn't want to think of what might happen._**

                Mizuki unconsciously clenched the now untangled lights in her hands until her knuckles turned white. _That was a perfect moment! A sly grin crossed her lips as she stood to help Sango put the lights on the large tree. __Looks like Miroku is turning shy with Sango-chan…normally he'd go all out with such a romantic atmosphere. Mizuki sweat-dropped. __I never thought the words 'Miroku' and 'shy' would ever be used in the same sentence but it seems he's not being as…forward as he would be. She cast a glance in his direction and shook her head. __Mattaku…I was never one for meddling but… She let out a sigh despite her efforts to keep it in. __I guess I could consider this my first duty as his sister; kick his butt into gear so he can be happy! His fear of rejection is grating on my nerves anyway; as traumatizing as it was, its not like every female on this planet will be his half-sister!_

                "Is something wrong, Mizuki-san?" Sango asked, turning her attention to the suddenly brightly beaming girl.

                She cast an almost scary smile at Miroku and Sango. "Just thinking!"

                Everyone sweat-dropped, not wanting to know what exactly she was thinking about.

*              *              *              *              *              *

                Miroku let out a long sigh as he stepped from the bathroom, pulling his still wet hair into its normal ponytail so the back of his yukata didn't get wet. The day was long and the nice hot bath was nice but his back was still hurting like hell. Shuffling down the steps, he made his way into the kitchen to grab a pastry his mother had made before going into the living and sitting in front of the still roaring fireplace, the fully lit Christmas tree shining in the corner to his right. Rubbing his back, he downed the last of the mini pies before laying down flat on the floor, relieving the aching pain only slightly. _Damn; that container hit harder then I thought…_

                There was a slight shuffling and Miroku whirled around, only to see Sango walking in with a hot cup of tea in her hand. "Still up, Miroku?"

                Miroku nodded, his eyes trailing Sango's form at her own yukata outlined. "Yeah…I sleep late..."

                An annoyed tick formed on her head but Sango refrained from hitting him. _No groping then there is no need to smack him. "What are you staring at?!"_

                He chuckled, turning his gaze towards the fire. "Nothing really." Absently, he rubbed his back and winced.

                Anger melted to worry as she sat next to him by the fireplace. "Your back still hurts?"

                He gave a short nod, stretching back onto the floor. "It's nothing; I've gotten a lot worse before. It'll go away after awhile."

                Sango frowned, looking away so he couldn't see her face. She knew of a massage that usually helped but this was **_MIROKU. She knew all too well that his hands liked to travel but he really __DID seem to be in pain… "I know something that might make it feel better."_**

                He gave her a curious look. "What?"

                She thanked the lord that the fire covered her rapidly rising blush. "Lay on your stomach." Setting her tea down, she turned away angrily at his amused look.

                Obediently, he rolled onto his stomach, watching out of the corner of his eye as Sango hesitantly crawled over before cracking her fingers. _Oh, how pretty she is when she blushes._

                Recalling how her mother used to do it, Sango sighed and began rubbing his back through the yukata material in small circles, watching as he stiffened like a board before sinking into the floor. He was obviously enjoying it, his hands folded under his head as a make shift pillow and away from any part of her anatomy. Smiling, Sango let out a sigh of relief. "Feel better yet?"

                His head nodded lazily. "Where did you learn this?"

                "Okaa-sama taught me since my father would throw out his back while in the forest chopping trees for wood or while he was hunting."

                Miroku let out a hum, curiosity perked. "Did you ever go with him hunting?"

                Sango felt more at ease now, smiling as she continued to massage his back the opposite way. "All the time; it was fun hunting and stuff. There were lots of fruit trees too so I'd climb up and pick those with Kohaku."

                Miroku grinned. "Is that why you jumped over the banister and landed on the ground so easily?"

                Sango blushed again. "I suppose so; I kind of miss everything. Evil spirits we'd ward away and the so called demons were only abnormally large animals that are common in our area of the mountains for some reason. It's nothing like what Kagome-chan probably thinks."

                Miroku nodded thoughtfully. His back was feeling great now but he was rather enjoying her massage. He and Sango hadn't ever really sat down and talked like this, much less about her background. He still didn't know about her family or how she grew up and oddly enough, he did want to know. "In the car when we picked up Kohaku…what did he mean by you needing to get a husband?"

                Miroku winced as the force of her hand against his back became a bit too hard; perhaps it was the wrong thing to ask.

                "The village elders thought that I needed a husband since I was becoming a bit too much like a guy and I needed to be a bit more feminine." She snorted to herself. "My father told me it was because this snobby rich kid we saved in the woods from a large bear six years ago took a liking to me. His family offered the village a large sum of money if I would marry him."

                Miroku's eyebrow quirked; his family was very wealthy and social so he knew many of the socially inclined family's around Japan like the Takeda's. He had heard of the _'warrior princess' that the Takeda family's son, Kuranosuke, had bragged about when they met three years ago. Sango couldn't __POSSIBLY be the same __'warrior princess' the boy bragged about, could she? "Out of curiosity, would this snobby rich kid be Takeda Kuranosuke?"_

                Sango stopped her massage, looking Miroku in the eye as he sat up. "I think that was his name, why?"

                Miroku tried rather unsuccessfully to hold his smirk down. "I seem to recall Kuranosuke-san bragging about a warrior princess when I met him three years ago. She was like a water lily blooming in battle as he described her, if I'm not mistaken."

                Sango choked on her tea, her face burning. "Oh no…"

                Miroku couldn't help it; he burst into a round of chuckles. Sango glared at him, grabbing a throw pillow from the bay seat and began smacking him with it. "It's not funny!" He grabbed her arm to prevent any further abuse, but Sango struggled to free her hand until he gave a sharp tug and made her fall forward on top of him.

                The blush on her pale cheeks couldn't have gotten any deeper. It was such a beautiful sight, Miroku giving into his temptation and brushing his fingers over her cheeks. "You're very beautiful, Sango…"

                She struggled to sit up straight but his left arm was wrapped firmly around her waist, preventing her from getting off of him. What would anyone say if they saw them?! But it was so nice and warm…and his eyes…they seemed sincere when he had called her beautiful…

                Miroku stared at her eyes that had begun to close, her struggle ceasing. She was so soft and warm, his eyes not moving from hers. He would have kissed her then and there had he not realized what he was doing. His safety instincts kicked in and his hand traveled to her rear, eliciting the wanted reaction.

"_SUKEBE!"_

**_::CRACK::_**

                By the time Miroku sat up, Sango had stormed out of the room and towards her room. With a sigh, Miroku stood to sit down on the bay seat, one knee propped up as he looked out the window with a sigh.

                "You're a fool, Miroku." Mizuki had been there and saw everything, though he had suspected it since she was as bad as him with insomnia. She had probably stayed hidden in the kitchen until Sango stormed out. "Why did you ruin the moment? It was perfect!"

                "It's too dangerous for me to become so attached to anyone; something always goes wrong." Miroku said a bit bitterly, ignoring Mizuki as she sat on the other end of the bay window and sighed, fixing her yukata. "I almost messed up before."

                An annoyed tick formed on the girl's forehead; she had forgotten how dense Miroku could be. "It's hard for us to see each other as siblings now, you know? We grew up being friends and dated until we found out a year ago so I suppose the wound is still fresh." Narrowed and angry sapphires turned towards him sharply, filled with annoyance that Miroku couldn't remember ever seeing in them. "But you're blowing this chance! You're getting a chance to find someone else and your blowing it! You need to put the past behind you and stop dwelling on it."

                "It's not that easy for me to do." Miroku narrowed his own eyes at her, annoyed. "With you I find out you're my sister, then there was Koharu but she had been toying with me to get back at an old boyfriend. I've tried but something always ruins it!" His voice had risen slightly, his pent up anger releasing. "I'm tired of having my heart broken just when it's starting to heal!"

                Mizuki sighed once before turning towards the window, watching the snow build up. The fireplace shed its light along her oddly calm features, her eyes still glinting a bit dangerously. "Consider this my first advice to you as your sister; love is not always smooth and many times your heart will be broken. However, if you choose to hide from the inevitable pain you may very well miss the best thing that ever came to you." Looking him straight in the eye, Mizuki stood over him with a determined look in her eye. "Sango-chan's a rare girl that's basically exactly what you need but you keep pushing her away. What will you do when she finally gets tired of being forced away and moves on?"

                Miroku didn't even get a chance to speak, Mizuki turning on her heels and walking up stares with a brief good night. Her words were still lingering in his head.

                "_What will you do when she finally gets tired of being forced away and moves on?"_

                And deep within his heart he already knew. He'd become too attached to her already not to know.

                His heart would finally completely shatter.

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**_OK, so I piled on a little drama at the end. Ah well, now I can start wrapping this up in the next chapter or two. Read and Review!_**


	7. My Sango

**_I can't believe the responses! I plan to have one more chapter after this to close out everything. I want to end it before my creativity runs out and it ends up floating in the pond of never finished stories. BUT, I plan on having a new story posted soon after that I'm sure many will like if they liked this one. Without delay, here's Chapter 5 and a wrap up of Sango and Miroku._**

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_Miroku & Sango: The Ecchi & the Furious_

**_Written & Edited by: Yoshida Saori & Taijioku Christina_**

**_~:~ Chapter 6: My Sango ~:~_**

                All was quiet as Miroku sat in the waiting room, flirting with some nurses while Sango sat back, scowling to no one. Mizuki tried desperately to ease her on going headache, alternating her crossed legs every five or ten minutes in a tense wait. Aya had gone into labor and now they were there waiting for Hatori to come out and announce when the new additions to Miroku's already large family were born.

                "What do you want them to be, Miroku? Didn't Hatori-san say she's carrying twins?" Mizuki asked curiously, trying to occupy her frazzled mind. Miroku seemed to always brighten at the sight or mention of children so she figured he could carry on a conversation about this.

                "I don't know…I'll be happy either way though I kind of hope their girls." Miroku got this glazed expression over his eyes. "It'll even things out between the others since Keiko is out numbered four to one."

                "I thought you'd want them to be boys so you could teach them some of your moves when they got older," Sango said dryly.

                Miroku feigned innocence. "Would you really want more then one of me running around Japan?"

                Sango cast him a dirty look. "That's true; one of you is enough."

                "Seriously though," Miroku said as he put his legs up on the coffee table in front of him, "I do want them to be girls. I can spoil them rotten then."

                Sango eyed his grin carefully. She had seen and named all kinds of grins he often gave but this was a new one. It had a hint of longing in it, a wry sort of grin as he probably thought of all the things he'd spoil his possibly new baby sisters with. "You like children, don't you?"

                A rare, serene smile flitted to Miroku's lips as he closed his eyes blissfully; he was unaware of Sango's amused look. "Yeah…I want to have some."

                Mizuki snickered inwardly, opening up her book that she brought along; he was too far in his daydream to realize he was going to give away too much then he was probably ready to reveal but who was she to stop him? It would do the boy good.

                "Girls to spoil rotten and protect while I can have sons to teach all the things I know and tease when they get girlfriends."

                Sango leaned on her knee, chin resting in her palm as she listened to Miroku babble all his plans for a large family. She hadn't really thought he was the kind of guy who ever seriously thought of this stuff. It was sweet.

                After a few minutes of rambling off possible names for his future kids, Miroku began to realize who he was talking to and how she was looking at him.

                Almost impossibly, Miroku felt an unfamiliar heat rise to his face. _Oh god, he thought miserably, __I **NEVER blush!**_

                Even so, Houshi Miroku was blushing as he bowed his head in utter embarrassment, muttering death threats towards Mizuki who finally let her boisterous laughter ring out through the waiting room.

*              *              *              *              *              *

                Aya sighed in exhaustion, bangs matted to her face as she smiled down at the squirming bundles in her arms, Hatori making baby sounds at them and smiling brighter then he had in weeks. Personally, she was just glad to see her feet again.

                "Kawaii ne," Sango and Mizuki breathed as they came in, immediately fussing over the bundles. After 22 hours of painstakingly long labor, Houshi Minako and Houshi Asako were born into the world. "They're so tiny!"

                Passing a package off to his father, Miroku smiled as his mother held one of them out to him. Cradling the smaller of the twins in his arms, his brotherly instincts kicked in as he rocked the baby in his arms gently, talking to her in hushed whispers.

                Sango couldn't help smiling at the sight. He obviously had a knack with children, the little girl in his arms gurgling as she attempted to grab his nose. "She's so cute," Sango murmured, looking over his shoulder and grabbing her fingers lightly with a smile, with such pretty eyes like her mother."

                Aya smiled at the two, blinking when something was shoved in her face. Looking up, she gave her husband a questioning look. "What's this?"

                "Since you went into labor I never got to share this with you on Christmas." Extending the large box – which she suspected Mizuki had done from the wide grin the girl was wearing – she opened the lid and her eyes turned watery. "Hatori-kun…"

                Sango watched in unconcealed fascination as he pulled out a bottle of champagne and a delectable dish of chocolate covered strawberries from the box, along with a candle which Mizuki promptly lit for them. "Merry Christmas, Aya-chan."

                Miroku reluctantly handed over his new sister to the nurse as she came in to take the girls away, making his way out of the room to give his parents privacy. There were, after all, a few things a person never wanted to see in their lifetime and their parents making-out was one of them. "Let's go back to the house."

                "Shouldn't we tell them we're going?" Sango questioned, pointing to the door as they walked towards the elevator.

                Miroku chuckled, shaking his head as his arm looped around her shoulders, nudging Sango forward. "They'll never notice and my father will realize it soon enough anyway."

*              *              *              *              *              *

                The holidays were always filled with laughter, but all things had to come to an end.

                "_KOHAKU! You're going to be late for your first day!"_

                The boy in question hopped out of the room he shared with his sister, trying to tie his shoes while hopping for his breakfast that Sango was plating out. Miroku had already left for an early class, so his muttering about evil teachers and Mizuki's loud rants from downstairs about son of a bitch teachers from hell had woken her up as well. "Ane-ue, where's my backpack?"

                "By the door!" Scrambling around the living room, Sango searched for her missing shoe. "Have you seen my shoe?"

                "You used it to shut the alarm clock this morning," Kohaku called back before grabbing his backpack, "I'm going to school, ane-ue!"

                "Be good and have fun!"

                "I will!" With that, the door slammed and Sango sighed, slipping her shoes on. It was back to the same old routine until summer.

*              *              *              *              *              *

                "Houshi-senpai!"

                Grimacing, Miroku plastered his famous smile on before turning around to look at the first year student who approached him after his two hour long seminar his psychology teacher required all his students to come to at the ungodly hour of 5:30 in the morning. It had finally ended and now he wanted to go get some breakfast before heading home to catch some sleep before his afternoon classes started. "Ah, Uki-kouhai, how are you?"

                "Great!" Pushing her overly thick glasses up her nose, Uki blushed under Miroku's curious blue gaze. "Ano…Houshi-senpai…I wanted to know…if you want to have breakfast with me?"

               Miroku sighed tiredly; he really wanted to be alone but he didn't want to break the poor girl's heart. She was, after all, a shy girl he knew from psychology and it was a surprise she even mustered up the courage to ask. "Sure, why not?"

                So all the way to the quaint diner he listened to Uki's nervous chatter, listening attentively and throwing in a few words here or there. It was normally the perfect time to flirt with her a little but oddly enough, he just didn't want to. He didn't even feel like flirting with the sexy waitress, despite her obvious attempts to show off her cleavage.

                _What's wrong with me? Have I fallen so hard for Sango that I don't even want to hit on any women anymore? Inwardly groaning, Miroku downed his coffee in one long gulp. __I thought I didn't want to get tied down to anyone…_

_                **It's too late now bouzou, a snide voice in the back of Miroku's mind -- it sounded eerily like Inuyasha's to boot -- snorted, ******__I doubt you can go a day without thinking of Sango and how you wish things could be.___

_                Shut up; what do you know?_

_                **I know you want her to be thinking of you at night when she goes to sleep. You want her to be the one who bares the children you want so badly.**_

****

**_                Silently, Miroku wondered why he was even arguing with himself but decided to continue talking with himself anyway. __She can't be the one; she can't be mine._**

_                **Why the hell not?! This time, the voice sounded distinctly like Mizuki's. ******__What the hell is holding you back?_

                For once in his life, Miroku didn't have the answer to that.

*              *              *              *              *              *

                Kohaku sighed as he trudged out of school, glad it was over with. Everyone had bombed him with question after question and now if anyone asked him again about where he came from, he swore he'd pull his hair out.

                "Kohaku-kun!"

                Turning around, he blinked in surprise as an excited Rin jumped him in an exuberant hug. "Rin-chan…what are you doing here?"

               Rin got off of him, pulling out a fresh school shirt from her little bag. "Sesshomaru-sama signed Rin up for school here! Now Rin can see Kohaku-kun every day!"

                Kohaku couldn't help smiling. "That's great. I'm glad I'll have a friend here."

                "Kohaku-kun didn't make friends at school?" Rin asked with a curious tilt of her head. "Did no one like Kohaku-kun?"

                Kohaku shook his head. "I don't make friends easily like you can, Rin-chan."

                Rin walked beside him, following Kohaku as he made his way towards his home. "But Kohaku-kun is kind...and, and…funny…" Rin searched her mind for other ways to describe the thoroughly embarrassed boy next to her, oblivious to his pinking cheeks, "And Kohaku-kun is cute! Why doesn't anyone like Kohaku-kun?"

                Kohaku tried to hide his deepening blush with little success – a trait he and his sister shared. "No one ever really liked me before anyway so I didn't expect to be well liked here."

                The thought that nobody liked Kohaku didn't settle well in Rin's mind, the small girl hugging him tightly around his waist. "Kohaku-kun is nice! Rin likes Kohaku-kun very much!"

                Stuttering, Kohaku really didn't know what to do in this situation so he did the only thing his mind could think of; run away.  "I…um…I have to go home and start my homework Rin-chan…I'll see you in school tomorrow!" With that, he ran down the sidewalk, leaving a completely confused Rin behind, not knowing how much she had affected the poor boy.

*              *              *              *              *              *

                Sighing, Sango trudged into the apartment, tired. It had been a long day and work had been busier then usual, leaving her feet sore and her limbs heavy.

                "Sango, is that you?" Stepping out of the bathroom in his white robe, Miroku arched a curious eyebrow. "You look exhausted."

                Sango muttered a few inaudible things before turning onto her side, allowing Kirara to jump up onto the couch ad cuddle hear her, the cat's wet and slightly cold nose nudging at her cheek. "I'm so tired…I had to run all around Tokyo for that pompous boss of mine…"

                Miroku frowned; she didn't look too good, Sango's cheeks flushed an alarming shade of red.

                Disoriented from her tiring day, Sango didn't even pay attention to her roommates hand as he kneeled by her side, feeling her forehead. "Why does it feel so hot in here?"

                "You have a fever Sango," Miroku said, getting up and walking to the phone, "Just sleep and I'll call a doctor for you."

                "I can't sleep…I have homework to do still," she said tiredly, trying to get up. 

                "Rest for awhile; I don't think you'll be able to go in tomorrow anyway," Miroku said with a deadly serious look as he pushed her back down onto the couch. Moving the pillows so she could rest her head more comfortably, he grabbed a blanket from Sango's room before instructing Kirara to make sure she stayed on the couch.

                "Miroku?" Sango's voice was oddly timid as she tilted her head back, a confused look in her eyes. "Do you care about me?"

                The question surprised him enough that the young man dropped the receiver. "What?"

                "Do you care about me?" she repeated, looking forward as she began to get a headache from looking at him upside down, "You always act so perverted and flirt with every female we see…yet at times like this your so kind and not nearly as lecherous…I don't know what to think anymore…"

                "Just rest," Miroku said uneasily, returning to her side with a thermometer. Putting it in her ear, he pushed the button and frowned at the reading. "You have a really high fever…" Looking at her, Miroku did a double-take.

                Sango seemed completely calm as she lay nestled in the pillow with her eyes closed, but tears had formed on her eyelids and were slowly running down her cheeks. "Why do you always push me away?" Opening her eyes, Sango's normally bright brown eyes were clouded, indicating she probably wasn't completely there. "Every time I think I can get close to you…you always push me away…"

                How was he supposed to handle this? Miroku hadn't ever been in a situation like this so he was fairly panicking as her tears came faster, a few muffled sobs escaping her lips. _Have I hurt her this much? The thought was surprising and he didn't fully understand. __Have I really hurt Sango this much? All this time…every time I…_

                Though Houshi men were known to be notorious playboys, none had ever made a woman cry; until now. Miroku's heart sank to the pit of his stomach as he racked his brain for anything to say but came up with nothing.

                Suddenly, he wished Mizuki were here to give him the good kick in the ass he knew he deserved.

                Through all his musings, it appeared Sango had drifted to sleep, her breathing steady and a bit broken from her sobs. Sitting by her side, Miroku took her hand in his and squeezed it gently, a forlorn look in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Sango…my Sango…I didn't know…"

*              *              *              *              *              *

                The morning light drifted into the apartment from the balcony doors, making Sango stir under the blankets. She still felt disoriented, her mind drawing a blank on what had happened after Miroku said she had a fever. Sitting up, she was surprised to see him sitting there on the floor, head bowed forward as he slept. "Baka, did he stay here all night?"

                "He did." Turning towards the kitchen, Sango blinked as Mizuki brought her some breakfast. "Miroku called me late last night saying you had a fever." A small frown crossed her lips for a moment as she recalled something. "Apparently, he was a bit clueless about how to treat you so I came up earlier this morning to check on you."

                "I don't understand…" Sango sighed, "Why does he act as if he cares?"

                To her surprise, Mizuki laughed a little. "He does, my dear, you just have to know how to see it. Houshi's are good at hiding their true feelings underneath carefully constructed masks." Patting his head briefly, Mizuki shook her head. "I think you finally managed the impossible and knocked some sense into him after what you told him last night though. I can't say I didn't see it coming."

                Sango frowned. "What did I say?"

                Mizuki arched a curious eyebrow. "You don't remember?" When Sango shook her head, Mizuki cursed rapidly under her breathe. "Ask him; I have to get to classes. Tell Miroku I'll bring him whatever notes he misses to him later. Kohaku-kun said he'd pick up your stuff for you after school and bring it home with him as well." Gathering her things, Mizuki gave Sango a rueful grin before leaving. "You're a really lucky girl, Sango-chan."

                Confused, Sango bade her farewell, shifting so she could slip out from under the blankets without waking Miroku. Kirara mewed as she got up, hopping down from the back of the couch and following Sango towards the balcony. The winter wind nipped at her face as she sat down in the chair facing the city, listening to the morning bustle. Clouds lined the morning sky heavily, indicating a possible snow fall.

                "Sango?" Miroku's sleep laced voice drifted to her ears as he stumbled onto the balcony, his coat tossed on lazily. From the bags under his eyes, it looked as if Miroku hadn't had a good nights sleep. "You should be inside in case your fever comes back."

                Miroku's stern look would have been convincing if he hadn't yawned largely after he spoke. "I'm fine now; you should be asleep since it looks like you didn't sleep well at all last night."

                He didn't, but Miroku denied it anyway. "I was worried."

                A dark look crossed her eyes as he sat on the chair next to her, his eyes opening to their normal size from the cold shock the seat gave him.

                They sat there in a tense silence for a long while until Sango had finally had enough. "Miroku…did I say anything last night?"

                "What do you mean?" The answer was too quick on Miroku's part making Sango's eyes narrow.

                "What did I say? Mizuki-san mentioned that I…" Sango paused as she saw him tense up, his bangs falling to shield his eyes. "She said I told you something last night…"

                "Have I really hurt you that much?" His voice wasn't even a whisper, making Sango strain her ears to hear. "All this time…has it really hurt you this much?"

                Sango was getting an uneasy feeling about this but shoved it away and looked at him curiously. "I don't know what you're tal --"

                Sango's eyes widened as Miroku suddenly had her in a warm embrace, his face buried in her hair. She only vaguely realized it was starting to snow.

                "I'm sorry for pushing you away…" His voice was slightly cracked, as if he were crying. "It's just…you scare me."

                If Sango wasn't confused before, she was now. "What?"

                Pushing away, she let out a small gasp; he _WAS crying. "Do you know how hard it is having your heart broken when it isn't fully healed yet? It hurts and it leaves a person…scared of falling in love again. That's why you scare me, Sango." Leaning his forehead against hers, Miroku closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. "I'm not sure what you did or when it happened but I fell in love with you…and no matter what I do you just won't leave my mind."_

                The bright blush on her face was ignored for once, Sango's eyes as wide as saucers as her knees began to shake. Had she not already been sitting, she would have fallen to the floor. "I…you…I…"

                That sinking feeling was coming into Miroku's stomach again, subconsciously preparing for the impending heart break. After all, he was nothing but a pervert to her most of the times, the few moments they shared something always ruined by him. Why would she possibly feel even the slightest bit for him?

               "I…think I love you too." Sango wiped her eyes, looking at her feet as if they were the most interesting things on earth. "Call me crazy but I guess I fell for you somewhere along the time I've been here."

                It took several minutes for Miroku to remember how to breathe and when Sango began shivering from the cold, he immediately ushered her inside and towards the fireplace as he got it going. Sitting down, he looked out as the snow came down faster, piling up on the ground. "You're getting sick again."

                Curling up in front of the warm fire, Sango wrapped the blanket around her tighter before looking at Miroku who had taken a seat next to her, his arm draped over her shoulders. "Miroku?"

                "Hmm?"

                Sango smiled as she rested her head on his shoulder. "How come you haven't kissed me yet?"

                Miroku looked surprised before grinning down at her. "Do you want me to?" When she nodded, Miroku dipped down and took her lips with his, male pride swelling at the thought that _HE was her first kiss._

                When he pulled away, Sango was blushing prettily, her eyes looking anywhere but his face. "That was my first kiss…" Smiling brighter, she snuggled into Miroku's arms deeper. "I'm glad you gave it to me."

                "Me too Sango…My Sango."

                And together, they watched the fire's light roar to life, lighting the apartment against the grim background of the snow covered city, sharing its warmth with the newfound couple as they snuggled together under the warm blankets, content as long as they were in the other's arms.

                And like a blacksmith mending dented metal in a forge, Taijiya Sango melded Houshi Miroku's battered heart with the warmth of her touch and the kindness of her heart.

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**_ACK! The ending is so…sugary I had a hard time writing it. The next chapter is the last one! It'll show more SXM WAFF plus draw some closure on Kohaku & Rin! Stay tuned! Read & Review!_**

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**_P.S. If you'd like to be alerted when I post my new Inuyasha story, tell me in a review and leave your e-mail!_**


	8. Epilogue

**_Ah yes, it is a sad thing that this is the last chapter but I'm SO happy that it got such wonderful feedback! Without further ado, the finale!_**

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_Miroku & Sango: The Ecchi & the Furious_

**_Written & Edited by: Yoshida Saori & Taijioku Christina_**

**_~:~ Epilogue ~:~_**

            Kohaku shifted nervously as he looked at the bouquet in his hand and his reflection in the mirror. His white dress shirt and black pants were as neat as they could be, hair slicked back into a low ponytail.  He almost looked like Miroku, only more refined.

            Sango beamed with pride, elated beyond words. "Kohaku's first date…I never thought I'd see the day."

            Kohaku immediately went red. "Ane-ue!"

            "You're embarrassing the boy, Sango." Miroku gave him a comforting smile, easing Kohaku's high strung nerves. "Just remember what I told you and you'll be fine."

            With a nod, Kohaku opened the door. "I'll be back by eleven, Ane-ue."

            Before Sango could voice her rising question, Kohaku was out the door. Turning towards Miroku, she narrowed her eyes at him accusingly. "What did you tell him?"

            His face radiated with an innocence that made Sango nervous. "Nothing, Sango dearest, I simply told him to do what I did on our first date."

            "Oh." Turned on her heel and was about to walk into the kitchen when realization hit her like a load of bricks. "_WHAT!?_"

            And that was how Miroku found himself trailing Kohaku and Rin for their first date. Right now they were settling in a few rows behind the two teens, Sango glaring at him murderously. "I swear, Miroku, if Kohaku does anything like what you did to me I will make you _PAY_."

            "If anything Rin might _LIKE it!"_

            "_SHE_ may," Sango allowed, though she was still glaring at him, "But _THEY won't."_

            Miroku followed Sango's finger and sweat-dropped. Off to the far right and a few more rows back was Sesshomaru, glaring at Kohaku and watching every move he made. Jaken was by his side, munching on some popcorn.

            "Well…Kohaku's a good kid…he'll be OK."

            "_YOU_ gave him some tips though!"

            Miroku simply cringed in answer. Hopefully, Kohaku wouldn't listen otherwise they'd _BOTH be in deep trouble._

*           *           *           *           *           *

            Mizuki sighed as she sat in the back with her date, the poor boy shifting uneasily with her head on his shoulder. "Koushiro-kun, you're not nervous, are you?"

            "Not at all!" He was sweating bullets, looking around to see if her father had tailed them. Apparently, his boss was even worse then his date's other father who owned the apartment complex she ran. Hatori had all but threatened him outright when he picked her up.

            Mizuki smirked, her grip on his arm relaxing. He was way too tense because of his run in with her two fathers, though he couldn't be blamed. Hatori _WAS_ quite scary when he needed to be and the father she had since birth…well…he wasn't a loan shark for no reason. When it came to scaring and threatening, he was the _KING_ and people knew he never made empty threats. "Relax…Chichi-ue didn't mean all his threats." _He actually did, she thought nervously to herself,_ but Koushiro-kun doesn't need to know that.__

            That seemed to ease the black haired boy, his rich brown eyes shifting from his date to the movie screen. A chill ran down when he spotted Miroku a few rose up, the boys glare trained on him. "Not your brother too…"

            "Hmm?" Following his gaze, Mizuki groaned in utter annoyance. Walking down the rows, she squatted by Miroku's seat and hissed, "What the hell are you doing here and why are you scaring my date?!"

            Miroku pointed towards Kohaku and Rin a few seats up. "Sango got worried that Kohaku may try to follow my tips I gave him and chichi-ue told me how fun it is to scare him so I wanted to try."

            Mizuki smacked his head before giggling as Kohaku shifted nervously in his seat. "Cute…" Glaring at the grinning young man once, she hissed, "Stop scaring him!" before walking back to her date.

            Miroku merely shrugged, watching in mild fascination as Kohaku put an arm around the back of Rin's chair. The boy had hope for him yet.

*           *           *           *           *           *

            "I think we're being followed," Rin giggled as they walked out of the theatre. Much to her delight, Kohaku's arm was still around her shoulder, though his blush refused to go away.

            Kohaku glanced over his shoulder, sighing when he spotted his sister and a piece of Sesshomaru's white hair. That meant Jaken and Miroku were following too. "I knew Sesshomaru-sama would follow…but Ane-ue?"

            "She's worried you might do something Miroku said." Mizuki smiled when the two teens nearly jumped out of their skin. "Would you like to join Koushiro-kun and I? We're just heading out for dinner at the Peony."

            "Sugoi! I love the Peony! Sesshomaru-sama takes me there all the time for my birthday!" Rin looked ecstatic, stars sparkling in her eyes.

            Kohaku tugged at the older girls arm, standing on his tiptoes and whispering, "I don't have enough money for the Peony…"

            Mizuki shoved a roll of bills into his hand from her skirt pocket. "Now you do. Trust me, we'll give them something to spy on, Kohaku-kun."

            Kohaku really didn't like the sound of that.

*           *           *           *           *           *

            The Peony was a four star restaurant with tables setup up in clusters of four, separated by walls with plants on top. Mizuki sweet talked the host into giving them the best table by the windows with a full view of the now dark sky and the lighted garden down below, various fountains adding a nice touch. It would have truly been a romantic atmosphere, had the quartet not known Sango, Miroku, Sesshomaru and Jaken were at the tables adjacent to theirs.

            "Jaken, what are they doing?"

            "Sesshomaru-sama, the boy is feeding Rin some salad. The Houshi woman is gushing how cute they are….OH!" His beady eyes widened. "The boy wiped her mouth with the napkin and is very close!"

            Sesshomaru bit down his primal urge to dart around and rip the boys arm off.

            "He's moving in…" A tick of Sesshomaru's brow marred his otherwise stoic features. "Closer…closer…"

            "Enough." Sesshomaru smacked Jaken in the head with the staff he always carried around, drawing his attention to the food their waitress put down for him and the bread and water for Jaken.

            Meanwhile, on the other side…

            "What are they doing?" Sango hissed to Miroku who was peaking at the through the plants. He waved a hand for her to be quiet, watching them with an appraising eye.

            "They're feeding each other salad," he said with a grin, "He's learned some good stuff. I'll bet Zuki-chan told him to do it though; for show. She turned her head and shot me a dirty look before so I'm sure she knows were here."

            Sango slumped in her chair, letting out a long sigh. "Well, I suppose I feel better knowing she's there to keep an eye on them. She won't let Kohaku do anything you would do…"

            "I wouldn't say that," he muttered under his breathe.

            Sango arched an eyebrow. "What?"

            Miroku merely brushed it off with a smile. "It's nothing, dearest. Now why don't we enjoy a nice dinner? The sweet and sour pork here is great."

*           *           *           *           *           *

            "I can practically see them holding their breath," Mizuki muttered to Kohaku who was in the seat beside her. Koushiro was on the other side, shaking his head in light amusement. "Why don't you feed Rin some of her food?"

            "Better yet, why don't you eat the same noodle to make it look romantic?" Three sets of eyes darted towards Koushiro who blinked in confusion. "What?"

            "Is that a trace of deviousness I see?" Mizuki couldn't contain her giggles as Koushiro merely grinned sheepishly. With a kiss to his cheek she smiled and said, "I knew going out with you would be worth it.

            Koushiro merely blushed in return.

            "Sesshomaru-sama might get really angry then…." Rin looked behind her slightly towards where she _KNEW Jaken was watching them. "I don't want him to hurt Kohaku-kun…"_

            "They won't; Miroku and Sango are here to protect him and so am I," Mizuki reassured, though she doubted the possibilities of beating Sesshomaru. The doctor was known for healing _AND hurting if need be; he never thought twice of hurting if it was for his surrogate daughter Rin. It was common knowledge that Sesshomaru would go ballistic on anyone who harmed one hair on her head._

            Reluctantly, Rin shrugged, looking at Kohaku who was about ready to sink through the floor and die from too much blood to his brain. "Kohaku-kun?"

            "Can we just eat dinner?" he piped up, uncomfortable. He hadn't planned on their first date going anything like this and as amusing as it probably would be to see the normally stoic doctor show some emotion, Kohaku just wanted to end the decidedly bad evening. _Rin will never agree if I ask her out again…_

*           *           *           *           *           *

            The evening was winding down to a close and Rin frowned in worry as Kohaku seemingly sulked all the way to her house to drop her off. He seemed to be like this ever since the restaurant and it was worrying her. "Kohaku-kun, is something wrong?"

            "Tonight was horrible…" he sighed, his hands shoved into his pockets.

            Rin was shocked to say the least. "Why…why would you say that?"

Her eyes were brimming with tears before Kohaku even realized his blunder. "I didn't mean it like that!" He waved his hands emphatically and began sweating bullets. "I loved going out with you but our date didn't go like I wanted it to…"

            Rin seemed pacified but asked cautiously, "So you weren't upset because you went out with me?"

            "No!" Kohaku mentally smacked himself for giving her that impression as they walked up to her door. "I wanted to ask you if you'd go out with me again actually…"

            "When?" Any trace of her former fear was completely erased from her features.

            Kohaku blinked mindlessly. "You mean you would go out with me again?"

            Rin nodded with a bright smile. "Of course."

            "How about next Saturday then?" Kohaku asked with a tiny blush creeping to his cheeks. _I don't believe it! She still wants to go out!_

            Rin nodded her agreement. "I guess I should go inside then before Sesshomaru-sama decides to come out and chase you away with his rifle."

            Kohaku nodded nervously, positive he **_WOULD_** do that. "OK…well…oyasumi nasai, Rin-chan." He turned to walk away but no sooner had he turned his back did he get whirled around again by his date and find her lips pressed against his. It wasn't explosive like Miroku often said but it **_DID_** send any thoughts he had out of his head. Kohaku couldn't think, nor could he pick up the undignified choking noise Sesshomaru made as he looked out the window.

            When Rin pulled away, her cheeks were stained with a pretty pink blush. Kohaku opened and closed his mouth, searching for something to say.

            "Kisama…" Sesshomaru stood in the doorway looking unhappy to say the least, hunting rifle in hand as he glared at Kohaku. "Get away from Rin you…"

            With a rushed goodbye and a stark white face, Kohaku bolted from the home faster then Sesshomaru could blink.

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**_Well, that's it. I'm going away for a week or two today so I won't be able to update anything for awhile. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I had fun writing it! R&R!_**


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